Just a Mission
by Cyberwing
Summary: [NejiXTenten] NEJI IS JEALOUS? No way! So what if he wants to beat his target, who Tenten is getting friendly...a little too friendly with, to a bloody pulp? It's just a mission. [Complete]
1. Tenten

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, it belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. I only own the plot.

Once again, a supposed one-shot that ended up into multiple chapters. This, is once again, something that is in my file document for a long time so might as well post it up. This will be something short so it shouldn't interfere too much with my other story. Tell me what you think about it!

**Note: Everyone is around eighteen, nineteen years old.**

**Just A Mission-ch1**

**What the hell is she doing?**

Neji narrowed his eyes as he looked at the scene before him with his Byakugan. If only he hadn't agreed not to interfere…

Everything went according to plan…too well…to the point where he wished that the whole operation had backfired. At least that way, he could've gotten the liberty to kick some ass…because he was in desperate need to vent off his frustration and anger. Instead, he was stuck here, on the roof top, acting as a look out.

Unconsciously, he tightened the grip on the binocular in his hands (the thing he was supposed to use to conserve chakra).

_The equipment snapped into two._

Out of the corner of the eyes, he saw Lee looked away from his own spying equipment, giving him a worried look. Neji closed his eyes for a moment, telling himself to calm down because he was acting unprofessionally.

It's just a mission. If he, Hyuuga Neji, was able to survive having Gai as his sensai and Lee as his team-mate for god-knows-how-long in his life…he can live through anything that god throws at him.

And of course, he can handle a simple mission such as this.

Opening his eyes, he almost had a heart attack.

* * *

(Ten minutes before)

**Would someone remind her once again why the heck is she still here?**

Tenten was currently sitting at the back of the bar called Musho in the Cloud Country. She had to stay there until her target, Isamu, shows up. He was a shinobi of the Sound; he had the information about the Sound and the Akatsuki which the Leaf needed desperately. There were rumours luring about saying that that although Orochimaru had left Akatsuki, both groups had kept in contact with each other since both forces are now considerably weaker than before. Deaths of their members were taking a toll on both groups.

In order to reinforce the connection, they would need some sort of middleman.

That was where Isamu came in; he was the messengers, a go-between for Orochimaru and the Akatsuki.

Actually, he was one of the two messengers which the ANBU was able to dig up. Hell, his presence wasn't even known until a year ago. Before, the connection between Akatsuki and Orochimaru had only been a hypothesis. Everyone thought that Orchimaru must have made himself the enemy of the Akatsuki when he left the group. But apparently, everyone was wrong.

Tenten supposed that they were using each other to get what they wanted. After all, they wanted different things. The Akatsuki wanted the Bujyuu (people like Gaara of the Sand and Naruto who had demonic power) for some unknown reason while Orochimaru wanted to achieve immortality and destroy Konoha. Orochimaru's objective, if successful, would lighten the workload of Akatsuki by a lot, since the group doesn't have to worry about Konoha, an uprising threat, anymore.

That was why it was so important to find the two men. Hokage needed to find out what the two groups had planned so she could take precautions, especially when Akatsuki had been laying low for the past five years after a failure in trying to retrieve Naruto.

Only two days ago, the Hokage received information regarding Isamu whereabouts. Tsunade dispatched Tenten and her team here to locate him and drag his ass back to Konoha once his presence is confirmed. Her team consisted of Neji, who is the leader of this operation, Lee, and Shino.

Usually, Gai-sensai would be part of the team. However, he was replaced by Shino since he and other more experienced Jounins had to go on a more difficult mission. As to the details of the mission, they were disclosed to its participants only.

The good part was that the Hokage had told her team and her that they could use 'any means necessary' to bring Isamu (alive) back to Konoha. This gave the team greater flexibility as to what they can do.

However, the downside is the fact that Isamu is in the Cloud Country. With the political tension that is going on between The Great Five Shinobi Countries, all the Kages of each country had to secure as much power needed without tipping the equilibrium. For instance, the Sand is now allied with the Leaf while other countries made their own arrangements. The Hokage feared that if the leader of the Cloud discovered that the one Leaf targeted is within the country, Isamu might be used as a bargaining chip, allowing the Cloud to manipulate the political situation to its benefit. The bargaining will take time, in fact, more than enough time for the Sound to take whatever steps that is necessary to exterminate Isamu. Or worse, if the extermination takes place in the Cloud, the leader might take it as an act of war. With the situation with the Sound and the Akatsuki, Konoha doesn't need get on Cloud's bad side.

Tenten and others are to accomplish the mission in the quickest and the most discreet way as possible, meaning, to avoid confrontation with the Cloud shinobis at all cost. This mission, simply said, is an 'in-and-out' operation. The team is to enter the country without the Cloud knowing, get Isamu, and exit the country without making any disturbance.

Well, that damn guy would have a hell of a trip when they drag his sorry ass back to Konoha, Tenten guaranteed it.

Tenten waved, motioning the bartender to give her another round. Shino nodded, he was the bartender for the night. He is the closest backup she'll ever get if shit happens. Neji and Lee were somewhere outside, surveying the area. They will be blockading the place from any foreign enemies from coming into the bar when everything inside goes chaotic. However, right now, Tenten presumed that they were looking at her with a binocular through the large glass window that was situated at the front of the bar next to the front door.

In no time, Shino walked over and placed a bottle of sake down and a small cup, she looked at him longer than necessary before paying him the money required. The sake in the bottle was diluted with water. Although Tenten was a good drinker, she wouldn't be able to drink so many bottles without getting drunk herself if it was the actual sake.

Not even bothering to pour the sake into a cup, she picked up the whole bottle and started drinking from there, taking tiny sips each time. During the whole time, she eyed the place, making sure that she didn't miss her target…just in case.

There was a time when Naruto walked past her, shirtless in all his handsome glory, (he'd just gotten out of the shower after completing a mission) in the Jounin building…

And she'd missed it all because she had been lost in her thoughts about her upcoming mission. She didn't even realize that Naruto had even been in front of her if other Jounins hadn't brought it up in the cafeteria.

Later Naruto joked and told her that he'll give her a personal exclusive show once she gets back—that is if Hinata doesn't find out…which is impossible because Naruto tells Hinata everything.

She sighed…_maybe next time…_

Drifting her thoughts back to the mission, she could feel her anger rising. Tenten was never one of the sadistic types, but she wasn't one of those passive either. Isamu guy pissed her off.

She had been in this damn bar for hours and he didn't show up _again_! She couldn't help _but_ to feel angry. Today is the third day already. She felt as if she is wasting her life away in this bar. She could've been training, going to a weapon shop to check out the latest stuff…or be playing that 'piss-Temari-off' game where she acted as a barrier between Temari and Shikamaru. Tenten got the news about the blond woman being in Konoha (again) to deliver a message for the Kazekage.

Tenten felt the corners of her lips curved up when she thought back to the time where she first did that. Shikamaru, of course, was surprised as to why the hell she would show up all of a sudden since he and she weren't exactly close. However, being the genius that he was, figured things out almost immediately after he saw the confrontation between Temari and her. His only response was a raise of his eyebrow. That lazy shinobi probably thought it is too troublesome to tell her to go away…

Sucks to have a lazy boyfriend doesn't it?

That, Temari, was for beating the shit out of her during the first Chuunin examination.

No, Tenten no longer hates Temari. After all, winning and losing are part of the test. However, that didn't stop her for wanting to annoy Temari here and there…

_Focus_! Tenten scolded herself since she'd let her mind wonder off once again. She tucked her long flowing hair behind her ears, wishing that she had a hair tie or something to bind it up.

However, despite the 'could haves'. Tenten is now stuck here. She shifted her sitting position. Both of her legs were starting to cramp due to the lack of blood circulation. Having nothing to do, she tried to smoother the wrinkles of her coat.

Tomorrow, she'll either have to buy some new clothes (meaning she'll have to go shopping) or wash her old clothes, and both of the choices will be boring. She had gone shopping on the first day of arrival in this town because her original clothes didn't fit the need of the mission. She had gone all around town and there weren't much to buy. The town was pretty small; the business district consisted of two streets. In total, one can walk around the parameter of the town in less than half an hour. The town practically build in the middle of a forest.

Tenten sighed again.

_This is all Isamu's fault!_

There could only be so many reasons as to why Isamu wouldn't show up at his usual hangout. The worse case scenario is that Isamu was already aware of her team and her presence…

Isamu!

Tenten's eyes sparkled when she finally saw her target stepped into the room. She observed him as he slowly walked across to the bar table and took a seat, making sure that she got the right guy. Over all, Tenten supposed she could call him as someone handsome.

His long black hair was tied into a ponytail. It was dapped over his back, reaching his waist. His bangs were highlighted in gold and were gelled so that they would spike up. The black sunglasses he was wearing prevented her from seeing the colour of his eyes. There was a cigarette dangling at the corner of his mouth. What surprised Tenten was that he was wearing a bright coloured blue shirt that had slices of pineapple imprinted all over it. He was also wearing a pair of light brown short pants.

Isamu looked like someone who was on holiday, like someone going to some luxurious beach resort, not some informant who exchanges messages between Orochimaru and Akatsuki. To Tenten, he was someone who is going to take a dive into clear blue waters once he steps outside of the bar.

Shino and her eye met for a small moment.

Tenten slowly unbutton the grey trench coat which she had borrowed from Shino earlier, revealing what she had on inside. She was wearing a spaghetti strapped crimson tank-top that had a large white butterfly at the front. The long black dress that reached her ankle had a high slit on the right, showing skin from her thigh down.

* * *

(Present)

Isamu got his drink from other bartenders (since Shino didn't really know how to mix a drink). Tenten could feel her eyebrow twitching when she saw women surrounding her target (her mission just couldn't get any worse). However, Tenten could begin to see why he was so popular, even with all the women surrounding him, instead of being annoyed or arrogant, he kept his gentlemen smile on and talked to everyone.

That wouldn't do…she had to isolate him from his friends to make the capture easier.

She had to think up of a plan…fast.

Her moment came when Isamu was about to get up from his seat…

"Oh, I'm so sorry!"

Tenten exclaimed as she had 'accidentally' crashed into Isamu when he was about to stand. Thus, she 'accidentally' lost her balance during the whole shebang and somehow 'accidentally' landed on his lap. He was pushed back onto the stool.

Having no intention of getting back up, Tenten snaked her arm around his neck. She gave him an innocent smile and said that she'll buy him a drink in return. She ignored the scrutinizing look she got from Isamu, acting like she was just some (air-head) girl who wanted to hit on him. She almost let out a sigh of relieve when he began to chuckle slightly. He stabbed his cigarette butt into an ashtray on the bar table and they engaged in a simple conversation.

She ordered a cup of martini and the bartender (not Shino) mixed the drink in front of her. Through the transparent glass, the drink was clear like water. In the glass, there was also a metal toothpick had three olives sticking through it like a kebob. Picking up the metal senbon which was in the size of a toothpick, Tenten eyed the man as she slowly devoured one of the olives. Licking her lips, she watched intensely at Isamu, observing his body language so that she could figure what to do next.

She looked calm on the outside but it was just her experience as a jounin taking over. Inside, she wasn't confident as if she can successfully get her plan to work.

Tenten was surprised when Isamu grabbed her by the waist and lifted her hand toward his mouth and ate the other two olives. Putting the metal toothpick back down onto the bar table, she'd almost couldn't stop herself from slapping the man when he placed his hand upon on her right knee (which was exposed because of her high slit dress). His hand moved up toward her thigh.

Shit…

He didn't look like he was going to stop on her thigh too. She had to distract him from his lewd actions.

Tenten raised the cup of martini toward his mouth. She gave him a seductive smile as she slowly turned the cup upside-down. The liquid poured all over Isamu's Hawaiian shirt. Surprised, the man stopped what he was doing and looked questioningly at the woman who was currently on his lap.

"Oops, my hands slipped. " Tenten said in a mock apologetic tone. She then moved closer to him, making invisible circles on the man's chest with her forefinger. She whispered words into his ear, making sure that he felt the heat of her breath. "As an apology…I'll help you clean it up…"

She backed away so that she can see his face. She gave him a naughty smirk as she asked, "if you allow me that is."

As a shinobi, there are only three deadly sins: sake, money, and women. It's because only one of those is enough to cause your downfall. They are the easiest thing anybody can exploit, making you vulnerable.

She had to admit, she had underestimated herself.

Her target seems to only too eager as he took up her offer. Without answering, he scooped her up into his arms. As the pair made their way through the place, Tenten could hear people cheering, whistling and laughing at them. Some of the men even make remarks that Tenten wished she didn't hear. If Tenten was someone shy like Hinata, she would've probably run out of the pub crying in embarrassment. Instead, she bit her lower lip as Isamu even took the time to take a bow before exiting the front door.

As Isamu carried her down the street, Tenten wondered how Neji and Lee were taking this image right now…

* * *

"Tenten is wonderful," Lee said in awe as he watched the pair below walked. "She has completed her part of the mission in less than half an hour since her engagement with the target. Well, I guess we'll just have to…"

When Lee turned toward his partner beside him, he realized…

Neji was nowhere in sight.

* * *

Isamu had put her down not long after they had walked out of the bar. He was holding her by the hand, allowing her to lead him past the busy streets and into a hotel. She wondered how long it would take before Isamu think that something is wrong. However, she'll just have to take one step at a time.

Isamu had wrapped his arms around her and was pressing his lips down on her back from behind while she was inserting her key into the lock. Turning the key, Tenten twisted the doorknob.

The pair could almost be described as stumbling into the room.

The room was designed in western style. Once you entered the room, there is a small hallway between the front door and the bedroom. A small bar and a closet with mirror sliding doors will be seen on the left side of the hallway. A door on the right will lead to the bathroom. Through the hallway, a bed is located in the center of the room, facing the television. A wooden desk with simple carvings stood next to the television. There was a sofa on the right side of the bed; in front of it was a small circular wooden coffee table. There was a large glass window next to the sofa, allowing Tenten to have a clear view of what's outside. Her backpack was currently placed on the sofa. It was opened, revealing her white t-shirt.

Her other team-mates shared another room at the end of the hall. Since there were only two beds, each of them were rotating as to who gets the sofa each night. However, each night just before she goes to the bar, she would take time hiding the things that would give anybody clues that she was a kunoichi. Therefore, she wasn't worried that Isamu will find anything that could be used to warn him against her. Most of the weapons she used were concealed within different scrolls anyway. Without the correct sequences of hand-seals, the scrolls will do nothing. Even if he sees them, she can just tell him that she likes to read, a lot.

Tenten turned around and closed the door behind her. She almost jerked when she felt someone's hot breath on her neck.

"You know," Isamu started, one of his hand wrapped around her as his other hand ran up and down the front of her body. With his arms, he pressed her toward him while keeping both of her arms trapped.

"I always wanted to fuck a whore from Konoha."

_Tenten's eyes narrowed._

However, her anger was soon replaced with pain as Isamu grabbed her roughly by her shoulders. Twisting her around to face him, he slammed her hard against the door behind her…

* * *

Like it? Hate it? Please review, it really motivates me into writing. More motivation means quicker update lol. 


	2. Neji

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, it belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. I only own the plot.

AAAHHHH! I couldn't believe you guys actually like this story…I guess I should've posted this sooner lol. It had been in my computer for so long. I'm about to finish chapter 3 for this chapter along with chapter 5 (or 6 depending if you include the prelude) for my Some Kind of Fairytale. As for the Operation one, I'm starting on chapter 15 but I still have a few things to work out first before I can post it.

However, despite all these, I won't be able to update till after next week, simply because I'll be going on a 7-day vacation. My computer will be with me but I won't have access to the internet; therefore, I won't be able to update lol. I might be able to complete this story by then or something…we'll see since I don't know how much time I'll actually be awake in the hotel room (probably collapse on the bed in a dead sleep right away).

**Aries Stephastone**: As an answer to your question, I tend to repost. It's an annoying habit but that's what I do. Therefore, ff net might say that I have another chapter when I'm just reposting the same chapter lol. Therefore, there's no chapter 6 to Some Kind of Fairytale yet.

PS. I can't seem to get over the fact that most of the readers actually want Isamu to die rofl. Don't worry, I want him to die too (insert evil laughter).

**Just A Mission-ch2**

When Tenten felt the pain on her back, she grunted and started struggling. He was able to hurt her because she was taken by surprise. She admitted that it was her fault for being too confident since things had went so well. However, she wasn't going to let a little mistake hinder her.

Immediately, she grabbed Isamu by his left wrist and twisted, trying to break his hold. Tenten was about to knee the man too when she heard a loud crash. Even though she wasn't in the bedroom area, she could still see that someone had smashed through the windows, causing pieces of glass to fly everywhere.

The two in the room froze, not knowing which side the intruder was on.

However, when the person came toward the pair at the door, Tenten realized the person was Neji. The next thing she realized was that Neji had (somehow) yanked Isamu back and was beating Isamu to a bloody pulp with his Hakke Hyaku Ni Ju Hashou (128 Points of Divinity).

After Neji had hit 16 of Isamu's tenketsu, Isamu leaned back, trying to dodge. However, he wasn't able to avoid Neji's fingers. He slammed into the desk behind him (Neji followed immediately by stepping up) and the furniture practically exploded.

"Stop Neji!" Tenten screamed. "You'll kill him!"

If Tenten was to make an analogy, the 64 Points of Divinity aims to hurt, the 128 Points of Divinity would aim to kill. After the person gets 128 of his or her tenketsu sealed, the person will be completely devoid of chakra and blood. Having the inner coil of chakra cut off is not as fatal. Yes, you can't perform anything other than taijutsu, but it does not endanger your body. With the 128 Points of Divinity, it cuts off the person's blood supply to certain parts of the body. The person will lose conscious immediately as the body tried to allocate the saved resources to something more useful and needed. Some will never be able to regain consciousness.

In her life, she could count the number of times Neji had used it. The attack simply consumed too much stamina and chraka. Why the hell is Neji using that technique knowing that the Hokage wanted Isamu alive? Isamu didn't even get a chance to block Neji's rapid attacks. That is how powerful the attack is, once a person is hit, it'll be more and more difficult for the person to avoid the upcoming strikes.

"Stop damn it!"

She had only tried to stop Neji verbally, not willing to go in between a Hyuuga and his or her target for it will be suicidal. However, if you were someone like her, who had been assigned to be with Neji for the past five years, then you will start see patterns in his attack.

Tenten's chance came when Neji moved back slightly from Isamu to get into position that was needed for his next set of attacks. She will have to be quick and careful because the 128 Points of Divinity is difficult to stop once it gets going. She had a greater chance of stopping him using her weapons but she didn't want to waste too much of her stamina or chakra. Not to mention she didn't want to injure her team-mate.

"God Neji!" Tenten tried grabbed him from behind and hooked her arms around his shoulder.

She missed…

Neji elbowed her hard on the jaw.

If Tenten was not a shinobi, then she would've probably flown several feet before hitting the ground. Instead, she did a back flip and landed in a crouch position. Neji had stopped his rampage, looking at her. Isamu collapsed with a loud thud and remained unmoving on the ground. Things in the room lay battered and broken, like a raging hurricane had swept through them.

Tenten touched the place where Neji had struck her and winced. She tasted something metalic in her mouth, probably her gum is bleeding. Usually she would've spitted the liquid out of her mouth; however, this time, something told her to swallow it instead.

Neither Neji nor she said anything.

Although Neji and she kept on training together after their genin years, she hadn't been hit by him for a long time. She might not be able to land a hit on him (damn his Kaiten) but that doesn't mean he could touch her either. Her agility matches his.

It wasn't the pain that was getting onto her nerve right now; it was what Neji had done. It was irrational and simply unnecessary.

The amount of noise he had caused…Oh dear god! It had probably waked up the whole neighbourhood! It will only be a matter of time before the owner of the hotel comes up and check on them. The hotel is a small one, having only two floors only. It had about twenty rooms in total. The first floor consisted of a reception desk and a small restaurant that is specialized in making beef bentos.

Her assumption was confirmed when she heard someone knocking at the door. Tenten gave Neji a look before heading toward the door. Although she was not pleased with what just had taken place, now was not the time to yell at Neji. She'll get that chance when she had _returned_ to Konoha and _after_ she had completed her mission.

Rubbing her bruised jaw that had already gone numb; Tenten opened the door slightly so that there was just enough space for her to peek out. She didn't want the person outside to see what had transpired in the room unless it is absolutely necessary.

She saw a man who was in his early fifties. He was a little shorter than her, around five foot seven. He had auburn hair that was trimmed neatly. His usual round friendly face was replaced with a serious look. Out was his usual business suit and in were a typical white t-shirt and a pair of sweat pants. His stomach was protruding from the shirt, probably due to lack of exercise and years of beer-drinking. He looked like he was woken up from his bed.

The owner of the hotel stared at Tenten for a moment before pushing the rim of his glasses, which was sliding down from the bridge of his nose, back up.

"What's going on in there?"

Tenten gave him an uneasy smile, "My apologies. It was my friend. You see, he goes into a drunken frenzy every time when he had too much to drink."

She had to come up with an idea quickly and all she could think of was the past incidents when Lee was drunk.

The owner raised an eyebrow, "I'm afraid that I'll have to go in."

Holding back a defeating sigh, Tenten swung the door wide open and took a step back, giving the man some space to enter the room. She bit her lower lip as the frown deepened on the owner's face when he saw all the damages. The lucky part was that Neji and Isamu were no longer there. Instead, their presences were replaced by Lee, who was lying on the bed face-down. He had his arms and legs spread out like he was making a snow angel. Loud snoring sound could be heard and not far from him, a bottle of sake laid horizontally on the ground with its content still spilling out, wetting the carpet.

Tenten could feel her eyebrow twitching, Lee had over done it!

The owner was about to open his mouth when Tenten stopped him. "I'm sure we can work this out. After all," she took out a small gold bar from her backpack that was discarded on the ground beside the broken circular wooden coffee table. "my friend and I are just trying to have fun. We didn't mean to cause so much trouble."

She tossed the gold, which was about the size of a small Kitkat chocolate bar, up in the air before catching it casually. The owner's eyes had followed the movement of the gold up and down.

Tenten smirked. "I'm sure that we can come to an agreement without alerting the authorities."

If that didn't work, she could always tie him up, stick a sock into his mouth, and shove him into a closet.

The owner didn't answer but she saw the pondering look on the man's face. She added, "in fact, my friend and I will be out of here immediately."

Needless to say, it didn't take long before the owner made his decision. The amount of money he could get from the gold was more than enough to refurnish the whole room. In fact, it was probably enough money for him to live without working for two years.

When the man left the room, Tenten closed the door. Leaning against the door, she mourned for the lost of her money. The gold was supposed to be used to bribe Cloud shinobi**s**, not **an** owner of a small hotel. It was her last resort too!

Sighing for the god-knows-how-many-times for the night, she walked toward the bed. Lee had already gotten up and was holding her backpack for her. She wrinkled her nose when she retrieved her bag.

"You stink."

Lee reeked of alcohol.

"Shino dumped two bottles of sake and other things which I don't want to know about on me when I was coming in." Lee explained to her when both of them jumped out of the window and landed on the street below. Lee also told her that Neji and Shino will be waiting in the forest just outside of town for them.

"Why wasn't I noted with the change in the plan?" Tenten asked in low tone as Lee and her past through the residential area.

If there is even a slightest change, she wants to know about it. Originally, Neji and Lee was suppose to be on the look out while Shino and her was to take care of Isamu and take him to the designated area outside of town to meet up with them. However, tonight, Neji had burst into the room, beating Isamu up with the intention to hurt the man badly. If the objective of the mission had changed from retrieval to extermination, then she should have been told about it.

Fortunately, the owner of the hotel could be bought over. If not, then everything could've gone down the drain! What Neji had done…he could've jeopardized the whole team.

"There isn't any change," Lee said as he jumped over the wooden fence, which barricaded the town from wild animals, with Tenten following closely behind him. The two dashed into the forest, going to the designated spot. "Neji had made the decision to move in suddenly…I think. Even I wasn't informed of the changes and I had been next to him for the whole night. I followed him but I had to remain outside of the hotel to observe the surrounding."

Tenten's frown deepened. Neji should've known better than to take independent actions. That idea of teamwork was practically drilled into every shinobi's brain. They are a team; therefore, they move as one. Everybody is to know what each other is doing all the time. As a shinobi, discipline is vital.

It didn't take long before Lee and her met up with the othe two. Tenten adjusted the straps of her pack to make herself more comfortable. Her whole team started to run. It will be a four day sprint back toward Konoha.

_Pulling something stupid like that…_Tenten thought.

Neji owe them an explanation.

* * *

The group decided to take a fifteen minute break before continuing on.

Their formation consisted of Shino being at the front, retrieving his bugs that he had dispose ahead of time. His bugs acted as a lookout, making sure that the route going back to Konoha is free of ambush and traps. Lee was the second following Shino, carrying the still unconscious target on his back. The one after Lee is Tenten, since she attack was mostly long range, she is suppose to back Lee or Neji up if something bad happens. Neji will be the last, using his Byakugan to survey the area, making sure to inform his team-mates if something pops up.

It was almost night time, and they were about a day away from the border of the Leaf Country. Although the chance of being discovered decreases with each passing minute, Tenten won't feel safe until she is within Konoha. By then, it's too late of the Cloud to do anything.

Tenten took out an aluminium pot and four packs of instant noodles for they will be their dinner for the night. She tossed the pot to Lee, since he was on his way to refill everyone's water bottle, might as well get him to collect the water for her pot too. Shino was sitting on a log, meditating. She could understand that because being at the front of the formation means he is responsible for sensing everything. It is a stressful position, not to mention it takes a toll on the body. Isamu was still sleeping like a baby after she had injected a tranquilizing drug into his system, just in case.

Neji announced that he is going to gather some wood for the fire. Tenten watched him as he walked away before standing up herself. Brushing some dry leaves off her pants, she followed Neji.

Tenten didn't get the chance to talk to Neji for the whole time they were running because she had to focus on her surrounding, making sure that there's no enemy around. During the several break time throughout the last few days, Neji would come up with excuses to leave every time she approaches him. The only times when he came close to her was when she had to carry Isamu.

When it was her turn to carry Isamu (Lee and her alternates), Neji would take the man out of her hand and carry him instead. He told everyone that a man like Isamu is not enough to hinder him. He said it in a serious tone, not giving anyone to say anything otherwise. Therefore, she let him be, telling him that she'll take over when he had to fight since he was the taijutsu type.

He didn't answer her. Instead, he got back into the group formation.

Frankly, Tenten was starting to get annoyed with the whole situation. If anyone should be angry, it should be her! After all, she's the one that got hit in the jaw. Why the hell does he act like she is the one at fault? She could tell that something made him angry and it had something to do with her. However, she couldn't possibly come up with an answer. She recalled the mission. He acted normal, to say at least, until the night when Isamu showed up. Not only did he not apologize for nor explained his action, he was avoiding her like she had some infectious disease.

Even Lee had no clue about his sudden change of moods and Hyuuga Neji is not supposed to have a mood-swing at all!

Of all the years which Neji, Lee and she had been as a team, they were good at reading each other's body language. A simple gesture or a glance would be enough to communicate. It was something that comes along with the years of teamwork.

For the first time in her life, she felt as if there was a barrier between Neji and her.

She didn't like now things were going at all. She hated to guess, not only because most of the time she would be wrong, she would also consider the worse case scenarios and they, in combination, would do nothing to lift her already fouled mood. Therefore, she prefers to take action and that was what she is doing right now.

"What is wrong?"

Tenten jumped off from a tree branch, landing gracefully before him.

The man being questioned didn't even look at her before sidestepping. He carried on with his branch collection like it was the most important task in the world.

Tenten narrowed her eyes. She moved in front of him, blocking his way once again. She demanded, "Tell me what the hell is wrong?"

She was fed up. Confused, frustrated, annoyed with him, she wanted to get everything sorted out now so she could get on with her life. She hated to be stuck in between awkward situations.

Neji eyed her for a moment with an expression she couldn't really understand. Tenten tiled her head to study him but he had turned away.

"You should put on something before you get sick."

With that, he headed back to camp, carrying a bundle of branches with him.

Tenten gave a silent 'huh' as she looked at his retreating form. She looked at the clothes she was wearing. She was still in her red tank top and the same long black dress. Since she only has one more set of clean clothes to spare, she didn't want to change into it until later. During the short breaks, it wasn't as if she didn't have time to change but she had other things to do, like refilling her water bottle by trying to locate a (clean) water source and stretching or sitting to relax her tensed muscle. Not to mention she didn't want change in an open area, she's not an exhibitionist.

She had thrown on a white windbreaker when it was cold in the forest during the night. However, she had taken it off when the sun came up because of the humid and hot temperature. Currently, the jacket was tied around her waist. Although night was approaching, she didn't feel cold because of the long period of travelling the group had done.

As a shinobi and as a woman who is eighteen years old, she knows how to take good care of herself. Tenten was glad because Neji was concerned about her well-being but she was expecting him to tell her what is the matter…

She sighed as she headed back toward the camp.

_Maybe next time…

* * *

_

The whole mission had gone smoother than what Tenten had anticipated. There was no interference from the Cloud, Sound, or the Akatsuki. Instead of taking four days to come back to Konoha, it had taken them in total three days.

When her team and her handed Isamu (who had finally woke up when the team past through the gate of Konoha) over to Ibiki, she could've almost sworn that his eyes had widened. In fact, they widened so much that she worried his eyes were going to pop out of his sockets.

Tenten had specifically requested Ibiki to be the man for the interrogation. Not only is Ibiki skilful in what he does, his questioning sessions often involve emotional and physical distresses.

Part of the reason was to get back at Isamu for taking advantage of her and shoving her against the door. His actions had caused two large ugly bruises on her back (particularly on her shoulder blades), they still hurt whenever she moves. Other reason was that she blames him for what happened between Neji and her.

When Isamu was dropped off at the interrogation room, Shino, Lee, Neji and she headed toward the Hokage's office to give her their report. Everyone had came to a silent agreement to not to bring up what Neji had done during the capture of Isamu. Therefore, Tsunade-sama nodded approvingly and handed each of them a cheque for completing the mission. Just when Tenten was about to leave the room, Tsunade-sama asked what had happen to her jaw.

She told the Hokage that she got hit by Isamu when she was trying to restrain him.

In other words, she lied…

To make matters worse, she lied to her idol just to save Neji's ass!

Her team-mate said nothing as they filed out of the room, with her being the last one. By the time she exited the room, Neji was nowhere in sight. Shino, Lee, and she looked at each other for a moment before saying their good-byes and going their own way.

Neji owe her big!

Well, at least on her way out Ibiki invited her to watch the next torture…questioning session. She declined, telling the man that she is simply too tired to do anything and just couldn't wait to hit the bed.

Tenten didn't even bother to stop by the hospital to get the medicine needed to treat her wounds. She headed straight home, took a quick shower and hopped onto her comfy bed. By that time, it was already midnight.

She loves her job but there were times when it demands a lot out of her. Even so, she couldn't see herself in any other occupation. She smiled satisfyingly as she turned off her bed lamp that was placed on top of her wooden dresser next to her bed.

She closed her eyes.

She'll figure something out tomorrow as to what to do with her situation with Neji.

With that in mind, she fell asleep almost immediately.

However, not for long.

* * *

Love it? Hate it? Please review! It really motivates me into writing! 


	3. Confrontation

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, it belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. I only own the plot.

Back into business after the 7-day trip (is anyone even interested as to where the hell I disappeared to?). Anyway, have fun reading this chapter!

**Just A Mission-ch3**

**Someone is in her house.**

Tenten's eyes snapped open. She had been a shinobi long enough that she can go from deep sleep to full alert in less than a few seconds. The house was quiet but she could feel someone's presence. Maybe she was over paranoid but her gut feelings had saved her enough times to convince her to continue to believe in them.

She couldn't think of anyone that would have a reason to come to her house tonight (she lives alone). Therefore, the chance of having an adversary in her house is far greater than a friend.

Tenten remained in her position, lying sideways with her back facing the door of her room. She didn't want to alert the intruder that she knew his or her presence. She was curious as to what the intruder wants from her. After all, she wasn't like Naruto (who was wanted by the Akatsuki) nor was she a descendent of a powerful clan.

Her feelings were confirmed when she heard the sound of her bedroom door opening with a quiet squeak. She could hear soft footsteps heading toward her bed so she discreetly reached for her kunai that is hidden beneath her pillow. When the intruder touched her shoulder, she pulled out the kunai and got into a defensive position. However, the intruder seemed to know her line of thinking and reached her for her wrist. The intruder twisted the knife out of her hand while turning on her bed lamp, illuminating the room.

The kurai hit the carpet floor with a thud.

The intruder was Neji.

Tenten let out a sigh of relieve when Neji let go of her hand. If she was even sleepy, she is fully awake now that she got adrenaline pumping through her veins, "god, what are you doing here at this hour."

It was already one in the morning.

But Neji was not someone who drops by to say hello. They didn't talk much during the mission since she wasn't able to get much out of him. He still talked to her only when it was only necessary. Tenten shrugged it off, not wanting to let him to make her mood foul. If Neji wanted to be that way then she'll just have to let him be. After all, she can't grab him by the collar and shake some sense into him. Hyuuga Neji had a will of steel.

Neji took out a small glass cylinder bottle. From the colour of the lid, she recognized that it was an ointment that was made by his cousin, Hinata. She saw it several times when Hinata had taken it out to help her injured team-mates. Hinata had finally given up on using the medicine on Naruto because by the time she lifted off the lid, his wounds were already healed. Nevertheless, the cream was quite effective in ridding bruises quickly.

Thinking back, Tenten was still amazed at how Naruto (injured or not) was able to launch himself onto Hinata whenever he sees her after a mission. It was as if he could transform from a serious ANBU to a whiny brat in less than three seconds. She would often shake her head as she watched the couple, wondering how the loudmouth is going to take on the role as the Hokage. If he is like that in the future…

The sound of Neji clearing his throat brought her back to the present.

Tenten said 'thank you' before reaching out, trying to take the bottle from his hand only to find that his grip on the object wasn't loosening.

Tenten sighed.

This is going to be a long night.

* * *

"Gently!" Tenten hissed as she felt the pain on her back.

Currently, she was sitting on her bed with her legs crossed, Indian style. The back of her shirt was pulled up to her shoulders, revealing her bare back. A brown blanket covered the front of her body. Neji sat at the side of the bed behind her. He was massaging the medical ointment onto her back. Therefore, she could estimate the amount of pressure he was applying on her bruise by the pain she felt.

Tenten could feel a slight jerk of Neji's hand. However, almost immediately, he continued on with his work. She looked at the alarm clock in her desk, which stood not far from her bed.

It was already 1:30am.

No, she wasn't going to get any sleep at all.

Tenten yawned, blinking a few times, trying to keep her eyes open. She tiled her head and looked at Neji. He didn't look up at her in response to her stares. Instead, he was observing her back like it was the most interesting thing in the world.

They hadn't talk to each other for the last half an hour ever since he had showed up. Tenten knew that he had something in his mind that he wanted to tell her (simply because it doesn't take half an hour to apply the ointment on her back). Normally, she would wait until Neji was ready to talk. However, not tonight, she was dead tired and she wanted to close her eyes and fall back onto her bed.

She sighed as she realized that he is not going to say anything soon. Therefore, she'll just have to take initiative.

"Neji." Tenten pulled the back of her shirt down as she turned her body around. Facing Neji, she grabbed his retreating hand and held it gently. She looked at him in the eyes. "Do you have something that you want to tell me?"

The said man didn't answer.

Tenten crossed her arms before her breast. Her right forefinger was tapping her left arm as she waited.

And waited…

And waited…

"Neji." Tenten said in her most patient voice. When she saw that he wasn't about to open his mouth, she continued. "It's really late and I'm really tired. Why don't we continue this in the morn…"

"Does it hurt?" He asked suddenly.

"What?" She asked, startled. By now, she wasn't expecting him to do anything other than to take his leave.

"Does it hurt?" Neji rephrased, slower this time. He reached out hesitantly and caressed her bruise on her cheek—the one he'd hit several days ago that had already turned into an angry reddish purple colour.

"No, of course not." Tenten said immediately, she gave a small uneasy chuckle as she ducked away from Neji's hand. The pain she'd felt that day was long gone. It was slowly healing; it wouldn't hurt unless she rubbed it. It wasn't the pain that was annoying her, but rather, it was the attention she got from the large ugly bruise. She had to explain (unwillingly) to those who saw her that she got hit by Isamu (because she couldn't tell them that Neji hit her). Therefore, the uninjured-on-mission streak that she had up till now was down the drain.

However, she couldn't stay mad at Neji since she knew that he didn't strike her on purpose. She got over it a long time ago. What she felt now was curiosity as to why Neji did the things he did.

"You shouldn't have tried to stop me Tenten." Neji said quietly as he slowly applied the ointment onto her face.

Tenten flinched at his remark.

"So I'm supposed to let you beat him to a bloody pulp?" Tenten questioned incredulously. "Neji, he's our mission. If you put him into coma then what's the point of retrieving him? He's useless to us unconscious. We need him to be at least to speak coherently when he reaches here. What has gotten into you anyway?"

Once again, Neji didn't respond to her question. Instead, with his fingers, he got some more ointment from the jar. When his hand was about to touch her face, Tenten slapped his hands away.

"My face is fine Neji." She stated with a touch of annoyance in her voice. God, he is impossible!

Neji, for the first time sighed, he placed the bottle on the desk next to her bed and stood up. Tenten only watched silently as he did so. It was only then did she realize how little things she could talk to Neji with. True, they had been seeing each other, as in meeting, for ages. However, the number of topics they would talk other than training, mission, or other shinobis were few. It is impossible to ask what he is thinking when he doesn't want to tell. His expression would turn stoic and look at you like you are the stupidest person in the world.

Therefore, Lee and she were better at reading his body language to interpret what he is thinking. She tilted her head as she continued to observe him.

"Have you met him before Neji?"

The only possibility she could come up with was that Isamu had somehow done Neji wrong in the past. Therefore, Neji wanted take revenge or something.

The pale eyed man looked at her for a moment before saying 'no'.

Tenten bit her lower lip to suppress another sigh. This Q&A session was going nowhere.

"I'm going to sleep now." Tenten said as she crawled under her covers, indicating that she wanted Neji to leave. She turned off her bed lamp and darkness filled the room. She'll prod him tomorrow when she sees him. She closed her eyes, knowing full well that Neji would lock the front door for her when he exits. He and Lee were the only two who possessed a set of her house keys. It was so that when she was on a mission with some other team (other than Neji and Lee), she wouldn't have to worry about watering her plants. She, herself, had keys to Lee's house (he lives alone too) but not Neji's. Since Neji still lives within the Hyuuga household, there are others who would take care of his stuff while he's away.

As a shinobi, Tenten had excellent hearing. Neji had not move one inch from his spot. He remained standing next to her bed. However, she also got a feeling that he was staring at her face. However, she didn't open her eyes, she was so tired. It was already two am when she flopped onto her bed; it was way past her usual sleeping time in Konoha, when she was not on a mission. If the previous mission hadn't taken so much out of her, then she'll probably let Neji take all the time in the world.

She was hoping that Neji would get the hint and leave.

Tenten was about to doze off when she felt Neji sat on the side of her bed. He lay down next to her with his body on top of the blanket.

Lazily, Tenten opened one eye and looked at him. He was facing her, lying on the mattress sideways. It wasn't the first time that they had shared a bed. She knew how that must've sounded but nothing happened, well, at least nothing sexually.

She could remember a time when she had a high fever and he had stayed with her for the whole night just to take care of her. When her fever was finally gone, he fell asleep next to her, exhausted.

There was another time he had slept over. He had run into some problem with the main family during their genin years (Tenten had never found out what it was). Therefore, in his anger, he didn't want to stay in the Hyuuga household for the night. She was surprised to find him standing in front of her apartment. When she heard that he wanted to stay, her response was to pull the door wider to let him through. Since she only had a small apartment then, the furniture she had was also limited. Neji had nowhere to sleep but the ground. However, since there was a mission tomorrow morning, Tenten shifted and let him sleep on the other side of her bed. After all, she convinced herself, she wanted her team mate to perform in perfect condition.

Tenten closed her eyes again. If he wanted to sleep here, then—

"He touched you." He stated.

From his tone, she could hear a touch of anger and…frustration? No, it was something she couldn't really identify. Crap, her mind was getting cloudy. It was so damn late…

"A lot of people touched me before." She muttered without a second thought. "Besides, I was _seducing_ him. I'll start to worry if he _doesn't_ react to me."

Tenten turned so that her back was facing Neji, getting into a more comfortable sleeping position.

"You should never have taken him on alone. There are other things we can do to…"

"But we'd searched all around town." Tenten interrupted. "And we couldn't find him. That's why we waited. It's the simplest method. Luring him into a room before capturing him allows us to get away without coming in contact with the Cloud shinobis. The mission went quite well, he showed up and we caught him. You personally approved the mission remember? I don't know why you changed your mind all of a sudden."

"It's because I can't help regretting." Neji said slowly.

"What the hell does that mean?" Tenten turned back to face him as she pushed herself up into a sitting position. The weapon expert reached for the bed lamp and turned it on. Light flooded in the room. She could take the fact that she'd made a mistake. However, she could stand it when Neji, or anybody, question her abilities. If he says anything about…

"You had thrown yourself to him…"

"Excuse me?" Tenten said incredulously. "Because I think you just called me a slut."

Neji looked at her for a moment, Tenten narrowed her eyes. She wasn't here to take his insults!

"There are other ways to lure the man out of the bar." Neji said simply.

The hidden meaning behind the statement was as clear as day to Tenten. She grabbed him by the collar, pulling him up into a sitting position also.

"Hyuuga Neji, do you want to take this outside?" She demanded. "I'll kick your ass right now!"

Neji touched her wrists, holding her at the pressure points, forcing her to get go of him. He stated calmly, "If I didn't get there in time, the situation would've gotten out of hand."

"I am completely capable of taking care of him myself. Even if you didn't show up, I would have caught him." Tenten argued. "He's right within my grasp..."

"You don't know what you are talking about." His voice turned icy.

"Of course I do!" By then Tenten was practically yelling. God! What the hell is wrong with him? He's mocking her as a shinobi, a job that she loves and is proud of. "In fact Isamu is…!"

Before she could finish her sentence, she found herself pushed backward onto the bed. Neji placed his hands on both of her shoulders as he hovered above her.

"Neji, what the hell are you…hmpf!"

Neji pressed his mouth on hers. She lifted her hands to his chest, trying to push him away and off of her. He quickly removed his grasps on her shoulder. He grabbed her by the wrists and pressed her hand onto the bed above her head, seizing her from making any movement. Tenten wasn't able to kick him because he had entangled his legs with hers in such a way that moving was impossible.

At this moment, Tenten was scared. The Neji before her wasn't Neji at all.

This is a monster!

She tried to scream but her voice was muffled into a quiet moan. The kisses he was giving weren't gentle, it was rough and painful. She could hear the sound of her heart thumping as blood pulsed through her veins.

Thud-dup.

Thud-dup.

Thud-dup.

A chilling thought came into her mind: is he going to rape her?

Without even realizing it, her hands were clenched into fists. Tears began to swell in Tenten's eyes, making her vision blurry, but she stubbornly refused to let any of her tears fall.

She's going to keep her dignity damn it.

Then she felt something warm and wet on her face.

One drop.

Two drops.

Three drops.

Her tears…

They rolled off her check and dampened the pillow that she was lying on.

Just when she thought that Neji's not going to stop, he did.

Tenten slapped him hard across the cheek. She moved away from him, not looking behind her; she lost her balance and fell off the bed. She continued to move backward until her back hit one of the walls of her room.

Neji stood up, walked toward her. He opened his mouth to speak when…

"Get out!" She screamed. "Get the fuck out of my house!"

Neji obeyed. Taking a last look at her, he walked out of her bedroom door. Just when he was about to close the door, he paused.

"You couldn't even fight me off of you…and I didn't use my full strength yet. Don't ever underestimate a man's strength. Shinobi or not, a man can easily overpower a woman if necessary. The moment woman threw herself at a man; she has already lost her ability to say no. It'll be too late to struggle if he is to force himself upon you."

With that, he shut the door quietly behind him.

Right after Neji had left, Tenten curled herself up into fetal-style, with her head resting on her knees and her arms around her legs.

It was much later did she realize that her body was shaking.

_She is afraid of Neji.

* * *

_

Love it? Hate it? Please review! Need motivation haha.


	4. Timing

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, it belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. I only own the plot.

_Omg, this chapter is so freaking long--13 pages! It took me so long to write and I just keep on modifying it too. I'd gone through it for so many times that if I do it again I'm going to die._

_Ah hell…This chapter provides the insight to the two main characters; it's difficult to write since it involves Neji changing his point of view as time progresses. I'm about to finish this fic, a chapter more before the epilogue. Then I can get back onto my other stories lol._

Also **Iriqui**, about your review, I understand what you are getting at. It's unfortunate that you and I don't have the same perspective as to how Neji and Tenten should react under certain circumstances. It is true that Neji has a strong belief regarding fate, that everything is already predetermined. However, keep in mind that after the fight with Naruto during the Chuunin Exam, his beliefs changed. After all, Naruto is a 'dead last' while he is a 'Hyuuga prodigy', the logical result in everyone's mind should be Neji kicking Naruto's ass without any problem. Yet at the end, it was Naruto who defeated him. To me, it seems to be good enough justification to change his mind about life…and about destiny—that although he has no power in choosing which family he is born in, he has power to do something about the life he is living. This, of course, is my personal opinion; you don't have to agree with me.

One little correction though, Neji didn't break into Tenten's house. Tenten had given him (and Lee) a set of her house keys so that they can take care of her house when she's away on a mission. Also, he went there because he wanted to give her some healing ointment. To me, it's his way of apologizing to Tenten about striking her.

However, I agree with you about the grammar. I know that it sucks and I apologize. It's just that I'd not been using English for the past two months other than reading or writing fanfiction (I'm in Hong Kong, on vacation). It seems that I have gotten the past, present, future tense all confused again. Also, I admit, I am rushing this fic. It is because I want to get this fic over with so that I can continue my Some Kind of Fairytale. I'm getting a writer's block in that one and every time I thought about Neji and Tenten, my mind goes back to this fic instead. Not to mention I can't update my Operation one because I feel guilty for leaving readers hanging in the Fairytale one (I tend to rotate my updates) lol.

Even so, I'm going to slow my pace down and take time to proofread this story. I thank you for your review. I hope that in the stories I publish in the future, we can come to a common ground about the characterization of Neji and Tenten.

**Note: Was Neji 19 or 18…I forgot…if I didn't specify then he's 19 now.**

**Just A Mission-ch4 (version 2)**

**Hyuuga Neji was not a man of words.**

Not having a father or mother to lean on when he was young meant he had to mature before everyone else did at his age. The misunderstanding between the main and branch house made revenge to become his sole motivation in his earlier life. In fact, Neji had started making plans to get back at the Main House ever since his father died, which happened not long after he reached the age of five.

He was an avenger, like Sasuke.

Both of them were trying to kill a member of their clan.

Yet in his case, he wasn't sure _who_ he was going to kill. Should it be Hinata, since she was the one at fault? If only she weren't so weak, she would've prevented the kidnapping from taking place (the thought of her being merely a child had never occurred to him). Or should it be Hiashi? After all, Hiashi was the one who approved the idea of getting Neji's father to take on the responsibility of the blunder which his daughter has made (Neji didn't know of the truth yet at that time). Or should it the whole damn Main House since it was the people there who decided that Neji's father was to be a Branch member simply because he was born a few minutes later?

During his genin years, Neji had spent nights; even years trying to figure out what he would do once he was strong enough. There was a time when he had considered forgiving Hinata, he understood her gentle nature. She was someone who does a better job in healing and mending than breaking and destroying.

Despite that, it didn't mean she could get away with murder. She might not be the one who killed his father; his father died because of her. She was unforgivable, just like everyone else in the Main House. Every Hyuuga had participated in the death of his father…if only there was someone who objected the preposition…the situation would've been totally different.

However, Neji also understood that he would never be able to do anything without knowing how to fight. Therefore, he trained and trained. He had to learn all the things he needed from the Hyuugas, only then could he use those very techniques to defeat them. That will be his ultimate revenge. Therefore, getting kicked out of the Hyuuga Household before then was not an option. He would hide his emotions; act as if he still respects the Main house so that no one would have an idea as what he was planning. In the end, that was what he did. In fact, he hid his emotions too well, to the point where he couldn't express them correctly anymore.

He didn't know how and he didn't bother to explain why he acted in a certain way.

Thus, a number of misunderstandings which could've been prevented in his later life, happened.

His genin life was based on isolation. Others considered him as arrogant, a bastard with 'a stick up his ass'. He didn't care; he was comfortable being alone for being alone meant that he wouldn't need to care about anybody other than himself. To him, he no longer wanted to get emotionally involved with anything or anyone…because it will only bring him more pain. Not to mention, as avenger who will become the enemy of the Hyuugas, he will only bring devastation to anyone who associate his or herself with him. Neji didn't want anyone not involved to get hurt because of him.

Neji supposed he was being cruel to be gentle.

He was similar to Uchiha Sasuke in more ways than one.

_But then…something made him different from the Uchiha survivor later on._

He'd fought with Naruto at the Chuunin Exam…and

He had his team…His team-mates had changed him in more ways than he was willing to admit. When Lee and Gai weren't on a mission to irk him, they were someone who he could rely on…from time to time.

However, when things in life became too havoc to him, he would always turn to Tenten, who, in some twisted ways, became his sanctuary. To him, she was the reason why he hadn't gone insane or tried to massacre the Hyuuga clan during the genin days, taking up the very steps of Uchiha Itachi.

He was angry beyond reason that his father had to die. He was frustrated because of his lack of power to do anything for his father. It was like he'd become an elastic band, and those negative emotions were the forces that was pulling on the band. He wasn't able to think clearly, all he could think about was that he was living in the same house as the murderers of his father. They were so close, they were practically in front of him but he couldn't do a damn thing about.

Every time he sees one of them, especially Hinata or Hiashi, emotions that he was forced to suppress was like a dam broke out. His emotions exploded within him.

He hated them, he hated the Hyuuga.

He cursed them everyday and night.

He wished that some sort of disaster would fall upon them.

He wanted to kill them himself.

**But he couldn't because he was weak.**

_He was about to snap._

He didn't know who he could turn to…until…

One might consider him exaggerating. After all, a prodigy of a prestigious clan builds his foundation of life based on a girl. Not just any girl, but a girl that wouldn't even be considered as female if she didn't have the anatomy of a woman.

How did this happen you ask?

It just happened.

It sounded surreal to him up till now. He couldn't find any explanation to it. It was a fact; he'd tried disproving it many times and failed miserably. It was like trying to find something to validate there is no gravity.

Compared to Sakura, Tenten was not loud. She didn't even need to make a sound yet she will be able to capture his attention immediately once she entered the same room as him. Unlike other girls, she didn't spend time reading fashion magazines, applying makeup or talking about boys. To her, sharpening a weapon, training with him or Lee and reading the newspaper for the day was more worthwhile.

Yet for some strange reason, it was her who could calm his raging emotions. Whenever he felt as if the whole would was being unjust to him, she would always be there. Neji actually felt that she's the only one who could understand him.

Maybe it was the fact that she too had lost her parents at young age (when she was seven), or the fact that her parents had died in such a horrible way when their mission went wrong. Or maybe…it was the fact that she is able to do something he couldn't do during his younger days…

When the murderer of her parents was brought out of the interrogation building, Tenten was waiting outside with a kurai in hand. The convict was sentence to death for he had killed four of Konoha's Jounins.

Everyone stopped and turned to the little girl, unsure of what to do since they recognized her being the daughter of two gifted Jounins…who were now dead because of the shinobi. She'd scrutinized the shinobi for a long time, the knuckles on her hand turned white due the strength she was gripping onto the kurai.

Then, she did something that surprised everyone.

She dropped her weapon. Looking at the man who killed her parents in the eyes, she told him that she will never be able to find peace if she kills him…and that her parents wouldn't want his blood to be on her hands.

With that, she turned away from everyone and sped away, tears were evident on her face. Therefore, she didn't see the shock look on everyone's face, hear the sound of crying as the murderer started sobbing uncontrollably, nor see him (Neji) standing at the side quietly, not far from her.

Neji couldn't comprehend why the murderer had started crying; that he would start shouting apologizes to the young girl that was already out of his view. If he is sorry, then why would he kill Tenten's parent in the first place. The damage was already done; it was too late to say something along the lines of 'he didn't mean to do it on purpose'. Neji was even more confused when he saw the nods of approval given by the adults around him, all of which were directed at the girl who had already left.

It didn't matter much to him though.

At that time, Neji considered Tenten as an idiot. The killer of her parents had stood before her, defenceless (the shinobi was chained). If she were to stab the guy a couple of times, no one would say anything because she has the right to. The shinobi had killed her parents for crying out loud.

Unlike him, it was so easy for her to take revenge. It was right in front of her but she gave it up, letting the chance to slip right through her fingers. If only he could get an opportunity like that, he would kill the person without a second thought.

Later, Neji had snorted when he saw her being assigned in the same team as him. He didn't want her, in fact, in the beginning, he preferred Lee more than her. To him, a forgiving person was weak. Only those who failed to take the matter into their hands would choose something so inadequate.

He didn't think much about the event, at least not until after the Chuunin Exam. It was then did he truly understand the power of the gift Tenten had bestowed on the condemned shinobi. Neji realized that he was the idiot. She was much more matured than he'd thought her to be.

_He learned that revenge could be a great motivator. However, once the person avenged himself, emptiness will fill the person's heart…because he suddenly has nothing to live on. On the other hand, forgiveness…could brighten the darkness in someone's heart. It…could change someone in a way better than revenge ever could._

However, even before he realized that fact, Tenten became someone who he depended on. Neji supposed that in the beginning, he was taking advantage of her big heart. After all, if she could forgive someone who killed her parents, then no matter how bad she was treated, she would pardon him. It was hard to have faith in Lee and Gai since they didn't act serious most of the time. Tenten, on the other hand, had incredible patience and acceptance. Whenever he wanted to stay at her house, she would swing the door wider without question, letting him through. If he wanted to pour his heart out at her, she would listen; if he didn't, it would be fine for her too.

Neji needed her in more ways than he'd like to admit.

Neji thought that his feelings by now would be obvious to her. After all, she was the only female who he actually made an effort to associate with: to treat her to dinner from time to time, to get her little things that she wanted but didn't buy during her window shopping trips, to spend time with her in the blacksmith shop as she tried to get the latest weapons available while he was a taijutsu type of fighter.

But she was ignorant, oblivious to everything.

**She didn't know how endearing she looked as she flipped through the menu, as she decides whether she should have a tempura soba or a teriyaki chicken with rice. She no idea how much he wanted to be the food that she was devouring…because at least, she will give the food her undivided attention for a short time before smile sweetly as she commented on how great the meal was.**

**She didn't know how much he wanted to buy everything she wanted when she was at the mall. However, he couldn't do it in front of her because he knows that Tenten will get angry if he was to pay for her. Instead, he would have to wait patiently until Tenten and he parted ways before going back to the very store, buying the thing that she had wanted. Then he would have waste time, making up some stupid excuse as to why he was giving the thing to her.**

**She didn't know how attractive she looked when her eyes shone as she saw the latest weapons. She had no idea how his heart pounded when she dragged him around the store, holding onto his hand.**

**And most of all, she didn't know that he loves her.**

Everything he did for her, she contributed it to the fact that they had known each other 'since the genin days', and the fact that they were 'close friends'.

Neji recalled the time during their Chuunin days when Tenten got a large wound at the front on one of the missions. A large blade had slashed diagonally across her front. Since there were only four of them on the mission (Gai, Lee, Tenten and him), he was the one who had treated her wounds while the two Proud Green Beasts of Konoha fended off the enemies. He had grabbed her right away, pulling her back from the battlefield. He found himself a deserted place, taking off his coat, he set her down. Her blood was soaking through the front of her clothes, turning her white shirt into a crimson one.

For the first time, he registered the fact that Tenten could actually die.

But he wouldn't let that happen. If the reaper was to come to collect her soul, then it would be over his dead body.

Slowly, Neji took out a kurai from his shinobi pouch. With quick precision, he gently cut away the front of her shirt, making sure that the fabric wouldn't stick to the wound as the blood began to dry. Immediately he started with the healing procedure, her wounds wouldn't be completely be mended since he wasn't a medic-nin. However, he had stopped the bleeding and that would just have to do for now. After he had finished wrapping the bandages around her chest and torso and established the fact to himself that she was no longer in a dangerous condition, he realized…

_He had touched Tenten…and he saw her…_

He looked at his hands and they were shaking ever so slightly, like they had done something filthy No matter how close they were as friends, as team-mates, Neji had always kept a distance between them. However, that night, he felt like he'd violated her somehow…but he also understood there was no other way to heal her…After all; he had only received a minimum level of medical training. If he was Sakura, then he might be able to just touch her wound, apply chakra at it and the wound would close…but he wasn't Sakura.

He told himself that it was just something he had to do…if he wanted to save Tenten.

Up until now, Neji could still recall the smoothness of her skin, the warm that was radiating off her body…Oh god her body…

But no matter what, he would never forget the way she looked at him that night. She had looked at him with such trusting eyes, like he will never do anything bad to her. She told him not to worry about her because she'll be as good as new once the day was over.

She was hurt and vulnerable… yet she was comforting him. He, on the other hand…he'd took advantage of her and she didn't even realize it. She was in a worse condition than him yet she still cared about him, putting him above her wound.

Then he wondered, if she was on the mission with another man, would she allow the person treat her wound like he did?

_Neji realized that if another man saw her like this he would kill the man_.

He stopped himself.

Why was he getting so worked up? After all, he had been a shinobi long enough to know that everyone that is a Chuunin would received some sort of medical training. What's the point of learning it if he or she is not going to use it to treat Tenten?

_But Neji didn't want anyone touching Tenten…other than…him._

He was confused. Why was he feeling this way?

He cared about her, as a team-mate of course yet because of her…he…

**Unlike his usual composed self, he had been so rash when he saw Tenten got injured. It was like he was on autopilot, that his mind could no longer think rationally. He'd rushed toward the ninja immediately, pulling Tenten away from the man while leaving himself wide open, defenceless as the shinobi was about to deliver a finishing blow to Tenten. If Gai weren't there to block the fatal blow for him, there would've been two people on the ground instead of one.**

**Unlike his usual composed self, he was actually scared when he saw the amount of blood Tenten was losing. He treated her wounds gently, jerking and stopping himself every time he heard her grunted.**

**Unlike his usual composed self, his heart wasn't suppose to beat faster when he saw the trusting look Tenten was giving him. He wasn't supposed to feel the hotness on his cheek when she leaned against him to catch her breath.**

_Hyuuga Neji was not known for being reckless._

_Hyuuga Neji was not known for being scared either._

_Hyuuga Neji was not known for acting like a schoolboy in love around anybody._

_And of course, Hyuuga Neji wasn't supposed to care about anyone other than himself._

Alone, Hyuuga Neji wouldn't do something like this.

Yet…together with Tenten…Hyuuga Neji would…simply because he'd fell in love with her before he even knew it. It was like an epiphany had taken place, the weight in his chest lightened. Suddenly, he could understand everything that he was feeling…and see what was happening between Tenten and him.

He loved her, loved her in a way that was beyond the love for a friend.

He was fourteen then.

In his stubborn mind, Neji was willing to wait. He told himself that he'll give Tenten time to get used to his presence…so use to it that she can no longer separate herself from him. Then maybe…she'll agree immediately when he asks her to marry him…because he's the only one who she can connect with…and that she's the only one he could stand living with.

It was for the best, he told himself, simply because he couldn't see himself in trying to woo anyone…even if the person happens to be Tenten.

_However, an event happened two years ago (when he was 17) made him to reconsider if he had made the wrong decision..._

Neji was coming out of his usual morning shower. He wasn't expecting anybody so he walked out of the bathroom with only a towel around his waist. He almost had a heart attack when he found Tenten asleep on his bed (apparently the Hyuugas were familiar with her enough to let her in and out of the complex). She opened her eyes and saw his half dressed state; she blinked several times.

Right then and there, Neji expected her to scream or saying something along the lines that he's an exhibitionist. Instead, she got up and walked to his closet. She threw open one of the drawers and pulled out one of his boxers. Not even having a tint of red on her cheek, she threw the thing at him. The boxer hit his chest and would've hit the ground if his hands didn't move at the last minute to catch it. Neji could only watch as Tenten pulled out other articles of clothing and threw them at him as well. As she got out of his room, she told him to hurry up or they will have to shorten their practice…

Neji blinked.

If it were any other girl who had seen him in the half dressed state, they would probably drool or have a nose bleed by now. But Tenten remained unfazed by him. Neji wondered if she didn't consider him as a man anymore. Maybe she thought of him as her brother, someone who she had been with since childhood; someone she could depend her life on but not someone who she could spend the rest of her life with.

Afterward, he had never display any affection toward Tenten that was beyond a love for a friend or a love for a team-mate. Maybe unconsciously he was redrawing the line between them, distancing themselves from each other and redefining what she was to him and him to her.

The relationship between him and her was difficult to explain. They were close, which was an obvious fact. However, Tenten was interpreting their relationship in a wrong direction. He wanted to be part of her family…but not as a brother. He wanted something more than that; he wanted their friendship to evolve into something else.

Neji wondered if he was being too impatient. After all, Tenten had devoted most of her life into following the footsteps of one of the legendary Sennins—Tsunade. She wanted to become one of the strongest kunoichi. The thought of getting a boyfriend probably had never came across her mind.

However, Neji didn't want to wait for her to 'come around' anymore.

He had been waiting for five years for god's sake! The time which Tenten and he had been friends were even longer. At that time, he changed his plan; he'll just have to take initiative. At the right time, he'll declare his feelings about her…then hopefully…she'll feel the same thing for him too.

However…when exactly is the right time?

During their training session, Tenten would lose her thoughts into developing strategies to improve the effectiveness of her weapons. He would feel wrong if he was to interrupt her thoughts.

During the time when they were out to dinner, Tenten would always wave to everyone and start chatting with the person who pasts by. With all the people coming toward their table, it was difficult to have a quiet moment with her.

During the time when they were in the blacksmith store…Neji just didn't think that a store full of weapons was a good place to propose…

As a result…he waited…and waited while rehearsing the words he wanted to say to her in his head for more than a million times. Yet he found it more and more difficult to start at all. He thought that writing it out would make things better, but he made it worse: _This part of the speech was not perfect…that part of the speech sounded too…_He kept of scraping the parts he dislike and adding in things…Then at the end, he simply tossed the damn piece of paper into the waste basket.

Neji reverted back to his old ways since he was the most comfortable with it…to wait…

Yet something snapped inside him a few days before. It was like a possessive side he had for her that was kept hidden all these years came flooding out. He hated Isamu, he hated the way Isamu looked at Tenten, he hated Isamu for touching Tenten at the thigh so overtly, and most of all, Neji hated how Isamu was able to get so close to her when he, himself, had never allowed himself to touch her more than necessary.

Maybe he was jealous and it had intervened with his mission. However, at that time, he wasn't able to think clearly anymore. The only thing in Neji's mind was to beat the shit out of him.

Love has made him a fool indeed.

It had done nothing but screw him up. After tonight, Tenten would probably be afraid of him to the point where she'll be avoiding him. Neji didn't know what had taken over him tonight. He just wanted to tell Tenten not to do something like seducing a man again…and somehow everything just turned out…

The Hyuuga sighed…as a prodigy…he was real smart tonight.

Neji took one last look at Tenten's house before walking away. He headed toward the Hyuuga complex, passing by different houses along the way. It was a quite night, with the occasional buzzing of bugs here and there. Therefore, he was surprised to see shinobis zooming by when he was about to reach the Hyuuga household.

Neji jumped up onto one of the roofs, stopping one of the oncoming shinobis.

"Neji, I was planning to get you."

The person was Lee.

The Hyuuga prodigy turned grim. Immediately he knew that something bad had happen. The only time will the headquarter get him when he was off-duty was when an emergency had occurred.

Knowing what Neji will ask next, Lee explained. "Isamu had escaped the interrogation quarter, leaving 4 Jounins injured. We are on a scale 2 alert. However, what's odd is that there's yet to have any signal that he is leaving Konoha. It doesn't make sense…why would he stay in here?"

Neji, if possible, his features darkened when realization hit.

"Tenten."

* * *

"_Tenten…"_

Her eyes widened, she twirled around.

There was nobody other than her here…

Tenten gave a quiet sign as she rubbed her temple with her hand. This was the third time already. After Neji had left, she went to the bathroom and washed her face. The cold water was refreshing. It was only then did Tenten dared to think back what had happen.

Neji was angry about the method she'd chosen to lure Isamu.

What he did to her was a _demonstration_ of what would've happened if she wasn't powerful enough to fight off Isamu, at least that was what she'd been telling himself.

After all, if he really wanted to do something bad to her…he wouldn't have stopped…

There was no way that Neji would harm her. He wouldn't, he simply wouldn't because…he's _Neji_…someone she had known since a child and…

God, what was she thinking? She was trying to find an acceptable explanation to justify his actions, that he was the same Neji, her closest friend and team-mate. She began to wonder if every other girl would do this. Wasn't she supposed to be angry? After all, he did the unthinkable to her. Even if they were close friends, there is a line that he simply cannot cross.

But he did…he crossed it tonight…

She didn't know what to think anymore. So many things had happened tonight. What Neji did…something she had never felt before began to surface…No…it was something that had remained hidden in her for a long time…which she'd brushed off up until now and will continue to ignore…

Tenten grabbed a towel on the side and wiped her face dry. Looking at the mirror in front of her, she decided that she would have to talk to him. She had been living long enough to know that if they don't talk about this soon, the chasm between them would only get wider and wider. It would not benefit the situation one bit since they have a great chance of seeing each other in the future…

However, it's not just the awkwardness of the situation that motivated her. It was because…deep down…she didn't want the years of friendship to go down the drain. Neji was a good friend, someone who she considered as a family. As a woman who had lost both of her parents, she came to depend on Neji on more ways than she'd liked…She was used having him around…so used to it that she didn't want it to change.

Maybe it was because she was desperate…that she was actually starting to panic. She had always thought that Neji will be with her…well, forever. After all, they had grown up together and stuff. He trained with her always, went on the same missions as her, ate meals with her whenever she was starting to get lonely and defended her, saving her life many times…

He was always there whenever she needed him. She hadn't thought much about it until now but…

She really didn't want to lose him…

Taking a deep breath, a decision came to mind: she _will_ talk to him…in a public place like the Konoha Park or something.

No, no. She'll talk to him alone; if she was to talk to him in public then she will never be able to get past her own fears of him…

After all, there is nothing to be scared…he's Neji! Tenten told herself once again.

He's part of her family…along with Lee and Gai of course…

_He was her family._

Walking out of the bathroom, she flicked off the light as she headed down the hallway. She had only gotten this house as a celebration gift for achieving the Jounin rank. She was proud since she was the one who bought it although it was a second-hand house. It was a typical western house, with two floors. There were three rooms upstairs, one was the master bedroom that had a bathroom linking it, another room was her library where her favourite literatures and jutsu scrolls were kept neatly on different shelves, and the last room was a bedroom, just in case she had a guest over of something. There was a restroom just beside the guest bedroom. Downstairs, there was a living room, a dining room that was connected directly to the kitchen, a washroom and her training room where her weapons were placed.

Tenten was beginning to be restless for some reason, like something was about to happen. Just then, she had thought that she'd heard Neji calling her name. This ought to stop or she'll never be able to get any sleep tonight. She touched the doorknob leading to her bedroom, she was about to turn it when she sighed. Instead of going inside, she changed directions and descended the stairs.

She'll get a drink before going back to bed.

Tenten entered the kitchen and flicked on the lights. Her kitchen was a usual square shaped one—a long kitchen counter was on her left, it has a few drawers at the side and a dishwasher underneath it. On her right there was a table stove equipped with an oven. The handle of the oven had a drying towel hanging onto it. In front of her, there was a water basin while a plastic dish rack was beside it. She grabbed a glass cup from one of the wooden cabinets and opened the door of the fridge that was situated at the back, at the opposite side of the sink.

The weapon expert looked through the refrigerator, trying to decide get cold water or orange juice (her favourite drink) instead. However, since she was not in the mood to brush her teeth again, she settled for water. After filling her cup with watiter, she placed the water (glass) jug back into the fridge, along side with a carton of milk and a large glass bottle of orange juice. Taking a sip of water, she turned around so she could step away from the fridge and close the door.

However, instead of seeing nothing other than her ordinary kitchen, she saw Isamu smiling at her.

**The glass cup hit the ground and shattered into many pieces.

* * *

**

Love it? Hate it? Please review and tell me what you think! Me need motivation! Lol


	5. Fight

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, it belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. I only own the plot.

DEAR GOD...THIS CHAPTER TOOK ME FOREVER TO WRITE. Writing fighting scenes is just something I'm not good at...but I really made an effort in writing it so I hope you guys will like it.

Wrong estimation…the fight scene is longer than I'd expected…so one more chapter before the epilogue. I'm splitting the whole shebang into two chapters lol

Just wondering…is anyone losing interest for Operation? It just that I'd been getting fewer and fewer reviews…I wonder what's wrong ...

**Just A Mission-ch5**

**Isamu went right for her neck, strangling her.**

She slammed into the metal frame of the glass shelves behind her. The things in the fridge rattled as the carton of milk and the water jug (which were at the top of the shelf) fell out. The glasswares were smashed into millions of pieces, sliding and spreading across the ground while its contents were sprayed everywhere due to the force of impact.

Instinctively, Tenten brought her hands over his, trying to pry his hands off of her and failed miserably. His strength, without a doubt, surpassed hers. He had pressed his body onto hers in such a way that it was impossible to kick him or knee him effectively like last time.

Tenten choked, her lungs screamed for air.

_Goddamn it!_

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw something that she could use to relieve her of the situation. Without a second thought, she reached behind her. Feeling the coolness of the bottle of orange juice, she slammed it onto his head…

**Only to miss as he'd jumped back**.

_He must've noticed the way her eyes had focused on the glass object before._

However, she would not give him another chance to come close to him again. She threw the glass container at him only to have him ducked out of the way. The item smashed at the far wall and shattered around the sink area.

"Quick reflexes." Isamu commented in a light tone as he closed in once again.

Tenten smirked. This time, when he was close enough, she turned her body sideways just when his fist was about to hit her. With her right hand, she grabbed Isamu by his right wrist while her other hand pushed the back his elbow so that he couldn't bend it. Their close proximity allowed her to trip him as she pulled him toward the fridge. Since he'd already set his own body in motion, he wasn't able to stop himself as his fist went through the plastic cover that protects the light bulb of the refrigerator.

Not letting this chance to past by her, Tenten used her left hand and hand-chopped him at the throat. She let go as he fell backwards, plummeting onto the ground with a loud bang. He coughed and choked and then…

_He didn't move._

Tenten looked at the body before her.

She'd been completely taken by surprise. Her awareness in detecting was something she was proud of. However, she didn't even realize that Izamu had infiltrated her house until she saw his face…Yet he must've arrived here shortly after Neji had left. After all, Neji had terrific perceiving skills due to his advance bloodline, even when Byakugan was not activated. Therefore, he had been in her house for around ten minutes or so.

Sighing slightly, Tenten began to assess the situation. She would be at a disadvantage if he was to fight with her again. She had no weapon right now. Her weapon pouch sat on top of her dresser, since she always put it on last, after she got dressed. Her other sophisticated weapons were either located within her weapon scrolls, which were also on her dresser, or in the training room, which were placed neatly on different wooden racks.

Since it was in the middle of the night, she was in her sleeping clothes. Different from her usual clothes, she was wearing a male sized t-shirt along with a pair of shorts. Those clothes were comfortable to wear but not helpful in fighting since they were loose. Thus, this increased the area of which she could be grabbed. She was also barefooted, as she was not used to wearing any slippers in the house. Not to mention…

Tenten tucked her hair behind her ears as she carefully evaded the broken glass on the ground, making her way toward him. Although her brain was telling her to use this time to stock up, she could not risk the chance of letting him out of her sight. This definitely would not be the wisest decision she'd made but she has to check on his condition immediately. She'd knocked him out on self-defence, yet she'd given no order to injure or (as much as she wanted) maim him in any way. Therefore, she couldn't act on her own in deciding whether or not to kill him.

Pulling out a Chef Knife out of the wooden knife block, which rested on the kitchen counter (just for safe measures), she kneeled next to him. She reached for his neck, trying to feel his pulse before determining her next move.

Just as her index and her middle fingers touched his neck, Isamu's eyes snapped open. She found herself being punched hard in the stomach; the force pushed her against the dishwasher. She saw black spots as her head connected with the handle of the machine. She swiped the Chef knife in Isamu's direction, aiming for his chest.

This guy…

He moved away from her, standing just in front of her opened refrigerator. The front of his black shirt torn open horizontally as her knife indeed hit its mark…although the wound was too shallow to do any fatal damage, it was bleeding nevertheless.

Slowly, Tenten placed her right hand on the kitchen counter. Never taking her eyes off of him, she supported herself up. She blinked several times, adjusting herself to the throbbing that remained in her head like a pseudo migraine. Her back was going to be a problem too since it took the blunt of the shove when she hit the Dishwasher, which now had a large deep dent on it. It was making cracking sounds as she moved like it was about to snap any second, and the punch…

Tenten winced as she felt the pain in her stomach. She slumped forward slightly as her left hand covered the area.

"Ah, I love that expression on your face," Isamu took a step toward her and heard loud sounds of glass snapping as pieces broke under his weight.

He look down at the glass fragments and then toward her. He kicked the glasses in her direction, making sure that the glass fragments surrounded the areas around her. Before, the pieces were mostly around the latter part of the kitchen, but now it was distributed mostly at the opposite end, where she was located.

Tenten remained expressionless as he did it.

Isamu rushed toward her, aiming his attacks at the lower part of her body, forcing her to move her feet. Yet, she wasn't someone who would do as he pleased. Remaining glued on her spot, Tenten was able blocked most of the attacks. She knew she was in a bad position. Isamu had more flexibility in terms of space. When Tenten found an opening, she couldn't put forth her attack because all he needed to do was to jump back and away from her. The area which she could manoeuvre or attack was limited. As a result, she was forced to be in a defensive position while he was able to use her immobility to his full advantage.

She would not be able to defeat him like this.

Just as Tenten was trying to figure out a plan, Isamu pulled out a katana which he took from her training room earlier. He bent his knees slightly and that was all the initiation it took for Tenten jumped onto the kitchen counter to evade his piercing attack (she wasn't a weapon expert for nothing, she knew what stance one needs to take in order to do a move).

She was not interested in having that katana jabbed into her chest…no matter how much she loved that katana.

With a flick of his wrist, Isamu changed the direction of his attack, forcing Tenten to jump off the counter to evade his swipe. Yet, he gave her no time to recoup. Therefore, she grabbed the handle of the fridge door and swung it out in front of her, ducking low as the katana pierced through it. As the katana was lodged into the door, Tenten shoved the door in the other direction to close it so that it would slam against Isamu's arm, forcing him to drop his katana. She then aimed the Chef knife at his throat only to have her weapon slapped out of her hand. The blade sailed across the kitchen and nailed itself into one of the wooden cabinets on the other side.

They engaged in melee combat, with him using only his left hand while she used both hands to fight. Her back was used to push against the fridge door, forcing him in place as well as crippling his arm.

Even with both of her hands, she wasn't able to take advantage of the situation. Isamu was someone good in close range, hand-to-hand combats while she, on the other hand, she was better at long range, supporting her team-mates, who were both specialized in mostly close range combat, with weapons.

She punched Isamu hard in the face and pressed backward until she heard the satisfying snap.

"You bitch!" Isamu screamed. He spoke with a sound of menace and his face expressed anger.

Tenten smiled at his remark, not caring much as she continued fighting with him.

However, her victory was short-lived as Isamu did something that resembled a Chakra Burst suddenly.

The hinge of the fridge door broke off and she was thrown forcefully out of the way, slamming hard into one of the four wooden chairs, which were pushed against the dining table, with her upper body. She could barely get out of the way as the fridge door flew across the room and collide with the same furniture.

The legs of the whole dining set (the table and the chairs) all snapped and collapsed.

Sitting on the ground next to the pile of broken wood and a fridge door, Tenten smirked as she looked up to him who was standing approximately a few feet away from her. He was carefully analyzing his wound, which was a broken upper arm as well as a large ugly bruise that was surrounding the area.

With his left hand, Isamu covered his wound as a small light of chakra glowed. When he took his hand off of his wound, Tenten saw that the broken parts of his arm were joined. Casually, Isamu picked up the katana with his left hand. He walked toward her as his right arm rested at his side.

Tenten chuckled at the irony of it all as she moved back weakly, distancing herself from him since she lacked the strength to get up. She'd fell to the ground as she had to get away from the flying door quickly. The blow she received by crashing into the wooden chair…she approximated that a rib or two must've cracked. Unlike Sakura, who would be able to heal herself with chakra, Tenten would just have to gather enough strength to finish him in one blow fast, despite her condition…Even though the chance of it actually succeeding would be low, she would try anyway.

On the other hand, the wound she gave to Isamu…was healed, not completely but the damage was greatly reduced.

"So, enlighten me Isamu. Why this lovely visit?" Tenten started, humourlessly when she hit the end wall. She was planning to stall him as much as possible.

Isamu didn't answer.

To him, playtime was over. He didn't have all day to attack her. He had to get out of Konoha soon, now that he got what he needed from this damn village. From the very beginning, Isamu knew of the Leaf's operation and it made his job much easier since he no longer had to infiltrate Konoha. All he needed to do was to let those dumb Leaf shinobis take him into Konoha. Once he arrived, he would just take what he needed and get out.

He could've gotten out of Konoha without a problem, it was a simple and easy task since the Leaf was expecting him to be in a cell in the Torture and Interrogation Center. However, he couldn't leave without paying this bitch a visit, not without showing her his gratitude when she'd handed him to Ibiki. He'd gone through quite a lot before Ibiki called it a day. What was worse was that he couldn't kick Ibiki's ass since Jounins and ANBUs worked in that department during most the day. Although he was confident in his skills, he'd never thought of taking them all on. Even he wasn't that insane.

Therefore, Isamu had waited patiently in his cell until the end of the day, when by which most of the people there had already retired before breaking out. If it wasn't because those stupid unnecessary wounds, he would've finished everything a long time ago.

Tenten watched him moved closed to her, stopping only a foot away from her before kneeling down to face her. It seemed that he was aware of her weak state as well since he'd left himself wide open. However, she knew that he only seemed that way; the tense muscles of his body told her that he would be able to lash out any time if anything arose. Despite what she wanted to do to him, in her state, she probably didn't have enough strength to swash a fly, forget about giving him a fatal strike.

"You are quite feisty; I like that in a girl." Isamu smirked. "I think I'm going to miss you when you die."

"And I'm going to miss you when I drag…" Tenten coughed several times, choking up blood. God, her wound in her abdominal was getting worse. "…your battered body back to the _T&I_ (A/N: Torture and Interrogation Center) and back to _Ibiki_."

"Still thinking about that huh?" Isamu chuckled. Sheathing his sword, he leaned forward as his left hand reached for her.

Tenten watched, thinking that he was going to strangulate her. She wasn't going to die without a fight, at least not without injuring him enough that her other allies will be able kill him easily.

She clenched her hands into fists.

However, all her plans were thrown off when he lifted her chin with his forefinger and thumb, forcing her to align directly at his face.

"As I'd said before, I like you a lot Tenten." Isamu said with a touch of regret in his voice. "But I think I'll like the pained look on the Hyuuga Neji's face more when he sees what I'd done to you."

Before she could say anything to retort, he kissed her savagely, pressing her against the wall behind her.

Tenten narrowed her eyes, although molesting had been one of her scenarios, it'd always been disregarded. Not because he wouldn't but rather, she doubted he had the time to go through the whole thing since he had to get out before shinobis arrived at her house.

However, this could be used to her advantage, since he was so close to him.

She was about to hit his pressure points at the neck to render him unconscious when she found something foreign entered her mouth.

It was a pill.

Isamu pinched her nose and covered her mouth with one hand. With his other, he grabbed both of her wrists, stopping her futile struggles. He didn't release her until she swallowed the pill.

Immediately, Tenten tried to get the pill out by agitating uvula with her fingers only to realize the world around her started twirling. In front of her, she saw there were three Isamus, each overlapping one another like she was looking into a Kaleidoscope.

_Shit…_

Losing control over her body, Tenten fell forward…

_Right to Isamu…_

She was losing her consciousness…

_Neji…

* * *

_

"**There's no one in the house."** Lee informed Neji as the Proud Beast of Konoha joined the Hyuuga in the kitchen. He'd been all over, only to find that Isamu was not here…as well as Tenten.

What they saw in the kitchen didn't make them feel any better. There were glasses on the ground, a Chef knife had lodged itself into one of the wooden cabinets, the dishwasher was totalled, one of the door of the refrigerator had broke off and somehow landed on the dining table on the other side of the kitchen, which now laid in ruins. There was blood all over the place, although it wasn't enough quantity to be fatal, Neji and Lee had no idea who was the one injured. The large sliding glass door that was next to the dining room was open.

"Byakugan!" Neji called out the infamous technique as veins bulged out around his eye area.

He scanned his surroundings, allowing his vision to see through the walls of Tenten's house before adjusting themselves to the familiar streets and buildings in Konoha within fifty meters. He saw groups of Jounins dispersing into separate directions and others who were knocking on people's doors, warning them about their escaping prisoner.

Then…

Neji took off.

Lee followed closely behind him.

No more words were exchanged between the two team-mates but from the look of Neji's face, Lee knew that something was terribly wrong. With his bloodline activated, Neji's look promised a painful death. Lee could understand where Neji's anger came from, since he felt the same when he saw what happened at Tenten's place.

However, Neji also showed impatience and the muscles of his body were tensed up. Neji increased his speed.

Neji was someone who could remain calm and collected even when the worse case scenarios happened on an S-rank mission. He was also calculative; he wasn't someone who would go around wasting stamina.

**If only Lee knew what Neji saw…**

_Tenten…

* * *

_

Love it? Hate it? Please review and tell me what you think! Please click the button on the bottom left; it really makes my day happy! So PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!


	6. Limited Time

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, it belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. I only own the plot.

I'm so sorry for the late update. I know that it'd been more than a month. It's just that my life is becoming really havoc. I had to meet up with a friend of mine as he's leaving to go back to school once again for a whole year. I also had to buy books, switch courses because it's not working well with my schedule. Now I'm just getting used to going back to school because I'd been out of school for more than three months. Studying for midterms, writing essays, and finishing those damn assignments that are due every week are really putting a toll on me.

I'm sorry but this is not the end of the story, not to mention it's a short chapter. I figure that I'll put up fragments of it at a time, that way; I won't have to drag it on for another month. I'll try my best to update more soon, if it's possible.

**Just A Mission-ch6a**

**Neji and Lee reached the deserted training ground.**

The place was quiet, only a few sounds of leaves rattling were heard due to the zephyrs which blew occasionally. Since the place was mostly used by the genins in training, the ground was mostly made of gravel and grass. On his left, there was a place that was composed of wooden poles that were separated by different heights, width, and distance from each other. It was where one would practice their footwork, in preparation to fight in difficult terrains when balance was essential. On his right, it was a path that led to Green Lake.

It was the place where he'd learned how to walk on water along with Tenten.

_Tenten…_

It seemed he was always a step behind when things were about her.

Neji reached the long wooden bridge that was suspended above the water. The full moon tonight allowed Neji to have a better view of the area, well at least better than the training field. Lee followed him silently; his face serious. His body told Neji that he was ready to take on anything that God give him.

The Hyuuga and the Taijutsu specialist stood before the suspension bridge. In the middle of the bridge was where Isamu stood. Tenten was hauled over his shoulder. Her stomach was resting on his right shoulder. The view to her upper body was blocked by Isamu's while her legs were dangling at the front.

She was unmoving.

**What the fuck did he do to Tenten?**

"Damn, I should've known that she will be deadweight to me." Isamu chuckled as he slapped Tenten casually in the butt with his left hand. Locking eyes with Neji, he continued. "But I know this is the quickest way to get you to come to me."

Neji narrowed his eyes and took a step forward, only to be held back by Lee. The Hyuuga took a deep breath, telling himself that although he wanted to rip Isaum into shreds, he must calm down no matter what.

To remain calm so that he can still think coherently and fight at his top capacity.  
To remain calm so that he could work co-ordinately with Lee during the fight.  
To remain calm so that he could protect Tenten from getting injured in the process of fighting.  
To remain calm so that Isamu couldn't get away.

Or worse.

Isamu to escape while _taking_ Tenten with him.

Therefore, Hyuuga Neji couldn't make a mistake.

But he found that he couldn't. He simply couldn't. His anger was boiling up. He'd never felt such hatred toward anybody before.

If Isamu held some sort of grudge toward him, then he should've come to him instead. Isamu should've left Tenten out of this.

_But Isamu didn't._

**Because Isamu knew that hurting Tenten would do a much greater harm to him than hurting Neji physically.**

Within a short time, Isamu had already known his weakness.

Neji silently vowed that Isamu would not live to see another day.

As Lee and Neji approached, Isamu knew that he won't be able to take both of them on at the same time. After all, everyone knew that Rock Lee specialized in Taijutsu, and Taijutsu only. He's speed was almost legendary. As for Hyuuga Neji, he was famous for being able to inflict a great damage on an enemy within a short time with his clan techniques—which were mostly close-ranged attacks. What made him deadlier than Rock Lee was that he didn't even need physical contact to injure his opponent.

Facing both of them at a melee combat would put Isamu in a disadvantage. Therefore, he must do something which would give him enough time to take one of them at a time.

Within seconds, he came up with a plan.

Immediately, he tossed Tenten's body roughly away to his left as he jumped backward, getting away. She flew several feet away from the man before gravity took its toll.

She was descending into the pond.

In less than a second, Lee went forward to chase after the fleeing Isamu as Neji leaped over the rope railing. Having chakra on both of his feet, he landed solidly onto the water. He ran to the falling body and grabbed Tenten before her whole body submerged into the deep waters.

The sound of combat could be heard at a distance. As much as he wanted to join in with the fighting, he had his priorities. Right now, he would have to make sure that Tenten is alright. Jumping to the opposite end of the bridge, he gently set the Weapon Expert down.

Her eyes were closed.

Immediately, Neji reached for her nose, using his index and middle finger, he wanted to see if she was still breathing.

_She wasn't._

He cursed.

With his hands, he opened her mouth, blowing air into her mouth. Just when he was about to press his hands on Tenten's diaphragm, he jerked his hands away when he felt something hard protruding out of her body.

Neji froze.

Looking at her body for the first time, he analysed her. She was still in the same oversized shirt and shorts which Neji saw before he'd left her house. She didn't have any weapon with her other than a kurai in her right hand but this was the least of his concerns.

Her whole body was soaked, the material glued to her body like a second skin. It was only then did he saw places where something was indeed poking out of her chest irregularly.

Without a second thought, he pulled her shirt up. There was a large ugly bruise on her belly.

**The protrusions were caused by broken ribs.**

He couldn't perform CPR like this. He didn't want to push the bones back into her body.

He couldn't do anything else to help her either, because he'd only received a minimal medical training.

This was a job for doctors.

He grabbed her left wrist, wanted to check to see if she still had a pulse. Even with someone like him, who had the training and actual experience in doing such a task, found it for the first time to be difficult because his own loud beating heart and his shaking hands was getting into the way. It actually took several seconds before he could finally felt a soft pulse.

Neji let out a breath that he had been holding in.

Tenten was still alive.

Putting his fingers once again at her nose, he realized that she was breathing, barely, so slow and weak that he could hardly tell. Yet she was breathing nevertheless.

He had to take her to the hospital. It was the only way to go. The thought of getting back at Isamu had already flown out of the window.

Wrapping one of his arms over her shoulders and the other under her legs, he was about to scoop her up when a large explosion occurred followed by a deep sound of rumbling on his right. Without a second thought, he covered Tenten's body with his while making sure that he wasn't pressing on top of her in anyway. He didn't want her condition to worsen.

He turned to the direction of the sound and saw several ancient trees slowly leaned onto one side and collapsed at the same area where Lee disappeared into the forest to run after Isamu. The explosion created a large cloud of dust and debris to fly everywhere. Despite the situation, he got to move, Tenten didn't have much time left.

He'll leave a sign to signal for backup to come and aid Lee.

In his deep observation of the area, he didn't notice that the person underneath him was doing…

_He didn't notice her grip on the kurai in her right hand was starting to tighten._

**It seems she wasn't the only one with limiting time…to live…

* * *

**

Like it? Hate it? Please review, it really motivates me into writing.

I apologize for the grammar, I'm really tired so I'm not really thinking clearly right now.


	7. Downfall

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, it belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. I only own the plot.

Did I type 'kunai' as 'kurai' again? Damn it! Thanks AmazinGSensatiOn for telling me this.

It's 3am…why the hell am I even awake?

**Just A Mission-ch6b**

**Thud…Thud…**

Blood dripped onto the soft gravel ground.

_The kunai embedded itself at Neji's left collar bone._

**If he didn't move out of the way at the last moment…**

_The kunai would've nailed him at the throat._

Neji, for the first time in his life, found that he couldn't think at all. It was as if his brain had turned into hard solid rock.

Tenten injuring him on purpose?

Tenten attacking him with the notion to kill?

No, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't seem to be able to put 'Tenten' along with the words 'killing him' in the same sentence. He looked at the woman underneath him. She was Tenten, still in the same clothes, still with the same purple bruise on her cheek.

She was still Tenten…or was she not?

Neji looked at Tenten with his Byakugan eyes, observing her inner coil.

Her chakra level was low, but it was not yet completely depleted.

Even if Isamu had some fetish on studying Tenten, he shouldn't be able to replicate her down to every minute detail—even to every scar she'd received at her prior missions.

It was the reason why he went to grab her without a second thought when Isamu had tossed her away.

Her eyes remained closed, her breathing rate had not increased even with her earlier activities.

Was she unconscious?

Neji was stuck in between a difficult position.

He would not be able to free Tenten out of whatever jutsu she was under unless he could find Isamu. However, finding Isamu would mean he had to delay Tenten from getting her medical treatment. Yet if he was to take Tenten to the hospital right now, her hostility toward him (and possibly to every other Leaf) might cause her injuries to worsen.

His thoughts was interrupted when Tenten yanked the dagger out of his shoulder, not caring for the fact that blood sprayed out of his wound and all over her. With a flick of her wrist, she aimed her thrust toward his throat again, forcing Neji to push her roughly away in self-defence.

Neji jumped back several feet, landing onto the wooden suspension bridge. He covered his wound with his right hand, but it did nothing to aid his situation. The wound was bleeding harshly, with its crimson warm liquid rolling down his left side, reddening his immaculate white clothes.

"Aw…She missed." Came a voice not far behind him.

Turning sideways, Neji saw Isamu standing on the other side of the bridge, with a regretful look on his face. The man had his arms crossed, with a cigarette dangling at the corner of his mouth. He lodged against the railing rope of the suspension bridge. The only indication of the fight before was his clothes were slightly dusty and ripped.

Taking a drag, Isamu held the cigarette in between his index and middle finger. "Come on Tenten, you can do better than this."

_Then Neji saw the most sickening thing in his life._

Rolling to her side, Tenten slowly pushed herself up. Her feet planted onto the ground in a slightly slanted way, like the muscles of her legs had a difficult time trying to get the force necessary to support the rest of her body up. When she was finally able to gain a solid footing, sounds of bones cracking were heard as she slowly bent up.

She was limping as she made her way toward him, slowly. He wouldn't be surprised since her ribcage was about to collapse.

"Everyone calls you the genius; well I think you are an idiot. Anybody would know to never let a dumb mushroom head, who can only do taijutsu, to fight against me alone. Your feelings and obligations for this girl get in the way of your logic and now your 'dear friend' had paid for your mistake. This girl will be your downfall, Hyuuga Neji."

When Tenten was close enough, she swiped her kunai at him, forcing him to push her hand away to redirect the course of her attacks.

By now Isamu was already laughing, "Kill her Hyuuga, there's no point in saving her. With the way she's moving, she's going to die of internal bleeding anyway, you'll just be quickening the process that's all. Better to save yourself."

Neji ignored him, dodging clumsily in a compacted space between the railings as he did not want to sever Tenten's injuries.

"God, you are a disgrace Hyuuga. Not only did you cause your comrade to die, you can't even take on a girl who's on the edge of dying. If I'm you I would've…"

Isamu stopped.

"Would've what?" Neji said calmly as he had his hand on Isamu's neck. He shoved the smoking man back toward one of the tall wooden poles that was on either side of the railing at the start of the suspension bridge.

He'd been waiting for Isamu to become careless.

"I would've killed myself." Isamu finished nonchalantly, smirking.

**Tenten got behind Neji and held her kunai at the Hyuuga's neck as well.**

_A perfect stalemate…._

"Must've slipped my mind to tell you that she still has her speed, she can't feel anything after all." Isamu kept his amusement look, enjoying the fact that the woman who the Hyuuga love was actually doing things for him.

Neji's face turned stoic, the face which froze many shinobi, earning him the reputation of being ruthless.

Isamu could feel the grip around his neck tightened.

"_I'm not afraid to die_, you say?" Isamu spoke in a casual tone, interpreting Neji's silent message. "But what about her? Killing me won't cure her; her cognition is directly connected with mine. If I die, she dies. Only I'm capable of neutralize the effect of the pill."

The moment when Neji hesitated, Isamu spit the cigarette to his face. Using the chance of Neji loosening his grip to get away, he mentally ordered Tenten to slit the Hyuuga's throat.

"She _is_ your downfall, Hyuuga."

* * *

Like it? Hate it? Please review, it really motivates me into writing.

I'm sorry for the grammar…little proofreading…need to sleep (dies).


	8. Already

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, it belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. I only own the plot.

I felt like being poetic today, hence the poetry…ignore it if you hate poetry. If it doesn't make sense, it's suppose to I guess…hell I don't even know what I'm trying to write lol

I am sorry for leaving this story for so long…I just have a lot of stuff to do and I can't seem to find the time to write…

But if I don't update any time soon…I suppose you all would want to kill me? ;D

**Warning: spoilers of Episode 153.**

**Just A Mission-ch6c**

_A girl was walking on thin ice--  
__Behind her was a boy  
__Hand-in-hand,  
__Letting her drag him along…  
__Never questioning,  
__Always waiting patiently,  
__For he believe that one day,  
__The girl will to turn around  
__And look at him._

**_But the girl never did._**

_A boy was walking on thin ice—  
__Before him was a girl  
__Day-by-day,  
__Closing her eyes as she walked…  
__Always pretending,  
__Never admitting,  
__For she believe things will never change,  
__The boy will always be behind her  
__And remain there._

**_It was her who couldn't let go of his hand._**

_They were walking on thin ice--  
__Before them there was nothing left  
__Cracks-after-cracks  
__Breaking of the ice as they walked…  
__Maybe it is now…  
__Maybe some time in the future,  
__They will have to stop  
__Because both of them knew  
__They can no longer go on like this._

**_It was too late for both of them to turn back

* * *

_**

**Tenten thought she was dead.**

She woke up being surrounded by complete darkness, after all.

Not to mention that she could recall the battle between Isamu and her clearly.

**She lost.**

That was what happens to you…when one loses a battle. In her case, Isamu killed her…with that pill which he'd forced her to swallow. Seeing where she was, which was in the middle of nowhere, her explanation was confirmed.

**She died.**

It was a topic Tenten genuinely would like avoid. She didn't like to think about death, even though it was part of her job description. As a shinobi, there were times when she had to take away life; there was no other way to say it. It was simple a part of a mission sometimes—the need to assassinate a target or to remove any threat in order to protect a client.

Killing wasn't right; however, it was one of the solutions to a problem, like the time when her team helped the people of a village to overthrow a tyrant…

There was no such thing as being right absolutely. As a saying that she'd once heard, 'there's no such thing as right and wrong, only diverging opinions'. For her, what seemed to be correct might be totally condemned by other people…

She didn't go to the small river village, Katabame Kinzan, to become a saviour. Unlike Naruto, she didn't have a strong sense of justice that just had to be carried out. She was only at the village because, by chance, she was ordered to be there. Same thing for the overthrowing of the tyrant…

To put it bluntly, she did what she had to do to complete her mission and…to stay alive.

And getting rid of her enemy was the simplest way to exterminate a threat forever. One of a major problem for shinobis was the fear of other people trying to get back at them. There were just numerous chances of shinobis making enemies, it was easy. After all, for most parts, people simply have conflicting objectives than you. Competing, injuring, and killing one another was a commonplace to complete an assignment that was given to them.

Kill…

_She'd wished she'd killed Isamu on the way back to Konoha…when he was vulnerable._

Her friends

She worried that Isamu would go after them one by one now that he'd taken care of her.

They were all she'd left.

**Her friends had become her family. She would do anything she could for them to not get hurt.**

She was comfortable around them…not to mention she felt welcomed there. She didn't have to put up her guard about how to behave or what to say. She could just be herself—Tenten.

_She didn't want to feel the same anguish she went through with her real family when they…_

It was partly the reason why even though Gai-sensai was specialized in teaching taijutsu, she still became a weapon expert.

She wanted to be a long-range fighter.

That way she could oversee everyone and back them up if they needed help. She felt the need to protect them, knowing in return they were protective over her.

She considered how everyone would think about her death. Everyone would probably just shake their heads in pity that they'd lost one of their friends. She could almost imagine Gai-sensai and Lee mourning, looking at her grave while crying their heads off about not being there in time like some outdated soup operas…and Neji would…

**Neji…**

If there was someone she concerned the most about…then it would be him. Gai-sensai and Lee…they had a bond that was almost unbreakable. Most of the time, they were in their little own world and doing god-knows-what, leaving Neji and her to themselves. Even when she died, they would fine since they still have one another. However…Neji on the other hand…

She wondered what would happen to him…how he would react to this. After all, they parted ways after a dispute. What happened tonight…

Would he blame himself for her death? That he wasn't there to protect her when things happened?

Would he close off himself from the rest of the world once again, that he would isolate himself?

She was _scared for_ him.

She knew the argument was more or less her fault. She should've stopped him from leaving and apologize to him then…but…

_What could she say to him?_

**Neji was jealous of Isamu.**

She knew…but she didn't want to bring it up…since she didn't even want to admit that fact to herself. It was a sensitive topic, since it would lead to other topics which she didn't want to discuss with Neji. Because in doing so, everything…the environment which she was so comfortable with will be forced to change.

_She had underestimated her importance to Neji and overestimated the control Neji had over himself…_

Besides, there was always a slight chance that he wasn't…a small hope that he wouldn't…

It wasn't the first time anyway. There were days when it was so clear what Neji was hinting at, but she pretended that she didn't understand them at all.

**She didn't want anything to change.**

How would their relationship affect their team, especially her relationship with Gai-sensai and Lee? Would they have to separate because Gai-sensai or the Hokage worried that she or he might let their emotions get the better of them during missions? Not to mention the Hyuuga clan, how will they react to her relationship with Neji? After all, she didn't have any bloodline. She wasn't an exceptional shinobi too…at least by their standards.

And…

What if Neji and her ended up argue like tonight? What if things just don't work out?

If they ended up breaking up, they will never be able to repair their relationship ever again. It would be stupid and naïve to assume that, they will never be as intimate as what they have now. If they'd ended the relationship horribly, they would probably never talk to one another again!

She had been heading toward the goal of being a great kunoichi just like Tsunade-sama for more than ten years, alone. She knew what she wanted and she knew how to get reach her destination.

That was what she had been doing for years. It was her purpose in life.

But Neji…

Neji was someone she had been dependent on for most of her life. However, she knew that Neji and she would never be able to go beyond friendship as long as she plays dumb.

Neji liked her…

_And she…_

If she ever let herself cross the line, she would never be able to go back to where she was originally at. But by now, it was already too late to change anything. She'd died after all…she should at least be true to her feelings for once in her life…

**Maybe deep down, she really loves him.**

She was scared when she was still alive; she didn't know what to do. What if she'd really imagined things; that she was really thinking too much? Maybe she was over-analyzing the relationship.

It'd taken her too long to get back the family that she'd lost.

She didn't want to lose it again.

Turning a blind-eye was the best thing to do…as long as he won't tell it to her face to face…she could continue to bury herself beneath some sort of a cover and pretend she didn't know what was going on…

Ironic, how thinking about this wasn't as hard after she'd died.

Even so…she couldn't deny the sense of regret that was rising in her heart. It wasn't because the fact that she didn't get to be Neji's girlfriend…but rather she didn't get the chance to make up with Neji…she didn't like the sense of dread in her either…as she realized that she will never be able to talk to nor see everyone else ever again.

**She hated this place…**

She wondered if she was going to stay here forever…in this place, in the darkness…. It'd felt like she'd been here for years and yet no large doorway illuminated by bright lights indicating to her where the exit was or any visible sign telling her what to do next.

She recalled the novels and movies that talked about how when people died, they became ghosts, either became vengeful over their enemies or protective over people they cared about.

Why couldn't reality be the same?

She didn't want to leave everything behind without knowing what would happen to her precious people…

Precious people…now she was talking like Naruto. Tenten supposed that it was impossible not to be exposed to Naruto's theories if you were around him.

For some reason, it was as if there was something in his body that would make people around him change for the better…it was impossible not to…

Tenten pressed her lips into a thin line.

But if possible…she wanted to see everyone once more…

And tell _him_ that she was sorry…

**Sorry for what?**

Sorry that she was a _coward_…that she'd to wait till she'd died to get enough courage to sort out her feelings.

Sorry that she had stalled that long before wanting to tell him…she should've been more straight-forward to informing him about her thoughts.

She wasn't being fair to him…

**But it was already too late…**

_She was already dead.

* * *

_

Like it? Hate it? Please review and tell me what you think about it!

**Why isn't this story over yet?** This is a question I want to ask myself…this chapter wasn't originally part of the outline sketch I did…but I guess it's only fair that I write about Tenten's thoughts and feelings after I wrote Neji's. So if I don't go blabbing off and stay on track…I should be able to finish the story within the next two chapters…including the epilogue.

**I'm just wondering which story to update next. Since I don't have a lot of time to write all of them, so I want see what you guys want so I can prioritize.  
****Just a Mission?  
****Operation: hunt Shikamaru down?  
****Some Kind of Fairytale?  
****The Masochism Tango?**


	9. To Be Next To Her

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, it belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. I only own the plot.

I apologize for the late update…life always gets in the way…

**Just A Mission-ch6d**

"_I was never a big believer in romance…I mean things change, people change. There's always going to be someone better than him. After all, you'll discover more and more flaws within that person as you become closer to him. The next question is then, whether you can stand that person or not, and vice versa. It's hard to maintain friendship as it is, it's going to be harder to keep a romance relationship. I mean…it's just…I…_

"_I don't want to get hurt."_

**

* * *

Hyuuga Neji will die by Tenten's hands.**

Then at that very moment, Isamu would release Tenten from his jutsu so that she could feel the warmth of her dead team-mate's blood running down her hands. The best case scenario would be her taking her own life due to the guilt she felt.

Watching as Tenten made her move, Isamu could almost taste his sweet victory.

_Another name to be added on his "already killed" list._

Things were going so smooth that he wondered how the hell a village like Konoha remained to be 'a force to be reckoned with'.

Not only did he manage to finish his mission earlier than he had once thought, he was able to get a chance to take care of both the Hyuuga Prodigy along with his bitch, who happened to be the infamous Weapon Expert of Konoha.

It has been said ever since the pair had became Jounins, they had never failed a mission.

What a shame it would be that it would no longer be the case for them after tonight.

It should be a time for celebration. He would get that once he left this area. By the time the backup came, he would already be miles away.

It was the perfect plan. What could possibly go wrong?

Yet, he found the ends of his hair standing.

Years of experience was telling him that something was wrong, that he should get out of the area immediately…

_The wind had died._

Before he had even finished the thought, a rocket of air blasted in his direction from his left, forcing him to dodge.

What the fuck?

_Tap…Tap…Tap…_

In front of him, a woman stood on top of one of the poles on the other side of the lake where the ropes of the suspension bridge were attached to. Under the moonlight, he had a clear view of who she was. Her blond hair was loosely tied up at the back into a loose ponytail, a few strands of hair dangled down to her shoulders. She was currently wearing a white tank-top along with a pair of blue Nike sweat pants. Her signature large metal fan was furled up and rested causally on her right shoulder, with her forearm rested onto the stem to prevent it from falling. Several common shinobi pouches were tied onto her right thigh and her waist.

The tapping sound came from her feet, where her shoe was pattering the pole she was standing on.

_She did not look pleased._

It was as if she was woken and was dragged immediately out of her bed so quickly that she didn't even get enough time to change out of her sleeping attire before heading out.

His analysis was proven when he heard what she said next.

"I see that you had been _taking good care_ of **our** Tenten."

He couldn't help but to eye the destruction left behind by her attack. There was a chasm that was a meter wide in diameter. From his left he could still hear the sound of deep rumbling created by trees that were slowly toppling over even when the jutsu had dissipated.

It was a slight miscalculation on his part, Isamu knew. It would be just too much of a hope to wish the Konoha people to not show up right after when he had created a loud explosion when he had taken care of the Hyuuga's team-mate earlier.

But it doesn't matter; they were already too late to save the Hyuuga. No one would have the power to get to…

He was jarred out of his thoughts as he found himself being punched in the stomach. The force of it forced him to fly upward. Not having the time to fix his orientation, he was forced to twist his body in the air, trying to defend himself. Instead of landing onto his feet as he'd thought, he was injured at several areas of his body, resulting in him not being able to block the final kick to his stomach which sent him face-first into the ground.

Temari smirked as she'd jumped down from the pole, "welcome back Lee."

Isamu looked up.

Indeed, the person who stood before him was Rock Lee. Although his green tight jumpsuit was dirtied anddrenched in blood from places to places, he looked like he wasn't injured at all.

A woman walked out from the deterred forest. She had short pink hair which could barely touch her shoulders. She looked at Isamu for a moment before an angry gleam flashed in her eyes, promising pain. However, when Isamu thought she was going to rush at him, she snorted and headed toward the bridge.

_Crazy psychotic bitch…_

Isamu didn't stop her, finding that there was no need. If she was going to help Tenten in any way, it would take a lot of her charka and time. Even if Hyuuga Neji was, unfortunately he might add, still alive from the knife wound at the throat, it would be even better since it would take her even longer to heal Neji as well. Right now, Isamu didn't need to worry about that pink hair woman; as she would be occupied. Instead, he should focus on the two people here and find a chance to get away before more people arrive.

* * *

"**Che…" A sluggish male voice said with a sigh. "Team-mates killing each other are just too troublesome."**

Sakura, who heard this, resisted the urge to roll her eyes. He wasn't the only one who had been woken up in the middle of the night. She walked up to the Hyuuga Prodigy and the Weapon Expert.

It was obvious that Isamu did something to them to cause them to fight against one another. After all, not only they were the best of friends, Tenten's eyes were still closed like she was sleepwalking. Sakura, being the medic-nin, practically had read through everyone's health profile. Tenten never have sleepwalking problems and Sakura doubted it would start this night. Tenten was probably being controlled by Isamu.

The kunai had almost hit its mark, nicking Neji's jugular vein. A steady stream of blood had already made its way onto the collar of Neji's robe, turning it crimson. However, thank god that Shikamaru had used his Shadow Copy Technique to bind Tenten's action before she was able to get the knife any deeper.

"Remove the kunai from Neji." Sakura ordered. "Then move Tenten back."

However, before Shikamaru could get Tenten's kunai away from Neji. The Hyuuga prodigy side-stepped, ignoring the fact that he had just forcefully yanked his neck away from the knife.

"Neji, what the hell…" Sakura started but was cut off by Neji's urgent tone.

"Treat Tenten." The man commanded. Large amount of blood was flowing out of his wound, forming a blood river that was to be absorbed by the white robe he was wearing. Yet, he simply covered it with his hand like he'd gotten stung by a mosquito.

The thud sound of the metal kunai hitting the hard surface of the bridge was heard as Shikamaru got Tenten to let go of the bloody weapon.

Sakura gave a defeated sigh before turning toward Tenten, thinking that how Neji and Tenten not know each other are in love with one another was a mystery. Fine…bleed to death for all she cared (from his look, Sakura knew that his wound was not fatal so if he didn't gave a damn, why should she?). However, that train of thought died when she took a closer look at Tenten.

Sakura cursed, she had not anticipated that the Weapon Expert would suffer such severe injuries. Her attention, once she had arrived at the scene, had solely been focusing on Neji's neck.

The medic-nin carefully scooped her up. However, even then it didn't prevent the small snap sound she heard from her body. Immediately, she carried Tenten off the bridge and placed her to the side. She had been afraid that if she moved Tenten any further, gravity would take its toll on her, forcing any weak fragile bones to snap. This place would have to make-do, Sakura concluded.

Several medic-nin landed next to her. Without hesitation they set out to work.

**KABOOM!**

"Don't wave your goddamn fan this way Temari!" A loud a male voice shouted followed by several angry dog barks.

"Move out of the way Dog-Breath." The said-female retorted as more explosion was heard and large dust clouds could be seen.

Sakura gave a mental sigh. This wasn't a good place to heal anybody. They were too close to the battle field. However, this was the only choice she had before Tenten was fixed up to the point where temporary transportation would not kill her. She noted how tense Tenten's muscles were as the Weapon Export still struggled to move. If the patient's body was not cooperating than healing jutsus were virtually useless.

_Tenten needed to stop moving, so that her body can relax. That way she would not tear the fragile muscles and bones that had just been repaired._

Sakura was greatly skilled in the healing the physical side…for something like the psychological side…Sakura was lost in her thought as she decided what action needed to be taken. She needed someone like the Yamanaka family, someone who could infiltrate Tenten's mind, by pass all the defence mechanism in a person's mind as well as kicking Isamu out of the poor girl. However, they could be anywhere; everyone was dispersed throughout the village to cover more ground. It would be extremely time consuming to…

"Goddamn." Ino's voice boomed above her, beside her stood Chouji and some Jounin guy that Sakura had never seen before. "The party had started without me?"

**

* * *

Isamu was to be killed by him, Hyuuga Neji.**

Neji would've said something along that line; that it was all pre-determined to end up that way.

It had been assuring to know that the world, which seemed to be chaotic, actually worked in a logical way. A simple cause-and-effect really…

Back then, he would've not stood at the sideline. He would not have allowed a medic-nin to look at his wound at his neck and watched while his comrades and friends fought with the enemy. No, he would've joined, despite his injuries. He would've pushed all his comrades away so that he could fight one-on-one with Isamu…

_A life for a life…_

It was his right, after all.

For Isamu had taken something important from him, Neji would do the same thing back to him. Neji, who had been on the road of revenge, knew that he could only find comfort when that the blood of his enemy dripped between his fingers, that the person's heart had been ripped out of the man's body and squashed right before him.

But Tenten is not dead, a part of his brain screamed.

And Neji was no longer a strong believer in fate.

If Tenten is to die…then no matter what Tsunade-sama say, it could not stop him from hunting the man down and killing him as brutally as possible.

**But she wasn't dead.**

In any other way, Neji would've found the situation strangely humorous. A self-proclaimed avenger exclaiming that he was not going to kill his enemy…

_Not yet at least._

No…he had priorities.

**His priority now was Tenten.**

Therefore, once his wound was healed, he moved toward the said woman and sat next to her. Listening absentmindedly at the commands Sakura as giving to Ino, Neji pulled Tenten's left hand toward him and held it; finding comfort that Tenten's hand was no longer as cold as before.

Isamu was his concern, yes. However, he also believed that his comrade had the ability to bring Isamu down. They were the ones fighting along side with him since his early genin days. Their skills were not something to be ignored even by the S-class criminals. They, as Neji had learned from Naruto, were people that he could trust and depend.

Besides, from the promising painful sounds that Isamu were making, Neji knew that they had not let him down.

It was to be expected.

After all, Neji wasn't the only one that cared about Tenten.

His friends would not let Isamu escape. Neji was sure that they would make Isamu's life as miserable and painful as possible while they were at it before they hand him over to the 'authorities'.

Neji's resolve strengthened even more as his hold on her hand tightened.

**His place right now was to be beside Tenten.**

* * *

This story is coming to a close…only an epilogue left to do then it would all be finished BAHAHAHA

Love it? Hate it? Please review and tell me what you guys think!


	10. Ending

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, it belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. I only own the plot.

Final chapter…Hooray

**Just A Mission-Epilogue**

Tenten's eyes snapped open.

The adrenaline and norepinephrine was kicking her body into over-drive. Immediately, she jerked upright, almost expecting Isamu was going to pop out of nowhere once more and attack her. Her heart was pounding loudly and she could practically feel the pulsation in her head.

Black spots appeared in her eyes, her sudden movement had caused the restriction of blood flow to the brain. It was her body's signal to her to lie down but she didn't want to relax her body until she knew where she was, who she was with, etcetera. Blinking several times, once her body adjusted to her position and such, she was able to observe the room.

There was nobody with her.

Only after that did Tenten slowly take in the surrounding around her. It was already morning, the sun shone through the thin white curtains that was attempting to block out the lights from the window. Right away, she labelled it as one of the hospital rooms of the Konoha Hospital, specifically the older wing of the hospital. If the powerful smell of alcohol from the antiseptic wasn't a dead give away, then the ugly bloody red uniform square tiles on the floor would.

Tenten gave a gentle sigh and calm down.

Then the pain came.

Wincing slightly as the throb in her abdominal had gotten worse by the minute with her sudden exertion, Tenten put her hand to the spot where she'd broken her ribs last time. Grunting, she slowly lowered herself back onto the metal framed bed. The thing complained with a large tweak. She adjusted the pillow behind her head and the covers, making herself comfortable.

Staring at the dropped ceiling above her, Tenten always wondered if the architect of the building had a sick twist of humour in him. Normally, hospitals preferred to have everything in lighter colours, a symbolism of hope, Tenten supposed. However, the older wing of the Konoha Hospital had all the dark morbid colours—black, dark brown, and crimson red—as if the people who were in the place wasn't worried or depressed enough already over their conditions of blood, injury, loss, and death. Tenten had never doubted for a moment that the old wing could've been used as a perfect setting for a horror movie.

She could almost sympathize the way infamous Kakashi, who could face up to everything under the sun, would avoid the hospital like a plague. Poor man was probably traumatized by the hospital environment. (Tenten had a bad experience with him as Sakura had once asked her to help chase down that mask-man so Sakura could heal his wounds—apparently he had escaped from Sakura's clutches as she was dragging him toward the hospital.)

Tenten blinked a few times, trying to keep her mind focus instead of dozing off.

Thank god they had closed it down and opened a new wing by the time Tenten had became a genin, which was the time when she'd received most of the injuries in her life; otherwise, she would never set foot into the hospital even if she was close to dying…Well, she suppose she would, but she would never have done it willingly. It was only recently that the older wing had been reopened after it had been refurnished. Tenten supposed Tsunade-sama didn't want to waste any resource if possible.

From the room, she could also tell she was in a Type C room, indicated by the lack of equipment and furniture in her room. Type C were private rooms, one would have to pay about 50 percent more than Type D, which was a large general room where eight to ten patients pack themselves into; however, it would be worth it. For Tenten was a private person, or maybe she wasn't used to sleeping with so much activities going on around her, she would never be able to rest properly when she was in the common room.

The room had all the standard items close to a bachelor's den. An individual washroom was on her left, next to the door. A small two-levelled wooden cupboard, that was slightly higher than the bed mattress, had a round metal tray on top of it. A 2L plastic bottle of mineral water, along with two glass cups, was placed on the tray. Her gym bag, dubbed as 'Tenten's Emergency Hospital Bag', was visibly placed on the top shelf of the cupboard. It seemed one of her friends had gone through the trouble of going to her house and getting it out of the coat closet. For that she was thankful. She hated to dress in those thing flimsy hospital gowns.

However, right now, Tenten just couldn't summon enough energy to change.

Lying there, Tenten thought about what had happened for the past few days. They seemed surreal, especially with the whole Isamu incident—the whole Isamu mocking her, the fighting…Neji kissing her…

It was funny, a few days ago; she would've done anything to keep her reputation as the top kunoichi, the one who had gone on S- or A-rank missions while having a perfect score of zero injury and a hundred perfect success rate.

She really had gone past the whole desiring for love stage, the thing about fantasying to be married to Hyuuga Neji (the wonderful, ever-loving husband) and to settle down with his children. She stopped dreaming with the impossibilities when she was thirteen, when she made up her goal to follow the footsteps of Tsunade-sama. She was fine with her choice about wanting to stay a platonic relationship within everyone.

That was until now where the damn Hyuuga had smacked her with the whole question of love again. Throwing it right at her face where she couldn't turn, couldn't play dumb.

She wondered if Neji knew what he did to her, making her going through such turmoil.

It would be five days later before she would be released from the hospital, during the whole time, Hyuuga Neji was nowhere in sight.

She supposed it was a good thing.

…Because she would've throttled him.

* * *

Tenten's left eye couldn't stop twitching. 

She paced back and forth in her room as she began to wonder whether she could just ditch her damn 'escort'. She had been there; ready to go for more than half an hour!

The damn person had yet to show up!

She exhaled. Fine, have it that way.

Tenten was determined to find him down anyway. It wasn't important whether he showed up or not…She comforted herself, ignoring the feeling of disappointment and a slight hurt that was beginning to rise in her.

Shaking her head as she put her feelings aside, she picked up the duffle bag and headed out.

She stopped before she walked out of the main hospital entrance.

Neji was standing just outside, lodging against the wall next to the hospital gate, with something in his hand. He was dressed in the way as he always did when he was not on duty, in traditional white Hyuuga robes. He had a look of concentration in his face, like he was trying to burn what he was reading into his memory.

The glass door slid open quietly.

It was then did he look up. He shoved the thing into his pockets before he went and took her bag out of her hand without saying a single word, without even sparing her a glance.

Tenten had opened her mouth as she watched him approach, but hesitated as she saw him just there. Therefore, she missed the perfect chance to say anything before he walked away once again.

Tenten pressed her lips together into a thin line as she followed behind him, going down one of the main streets of Konoha.

He walked ahead, a few pace in front of her only to turn around when he found out she several paces behind. He turned around slightly, looking at her with questioning eyes, if she wasn't around him long enough to tell the difference, she would've never known since he was always expressionless.

Tenten gave a small sigh as she approached him, "Neji…"

Then she felt something cold and wet dropped onto her nose. It was the only sign they got before the rain started pouring heavily.

Immediately, Neji grabbed her by her elbow and pulled her gently toward the tiny flimsy plastic cover of the shop that was next to them. He took off his outer robe, draping it over her shoulders.

It seemed the rain was to continue for some time. She faced him, "Ne…"

"I'm going to grab an umbrella." Neji cut her off. "You stay here."

"Wa.."

And he was gone.

"God Neji." Tenten muttered. He couldn't even stand still for a second! She wanted to talk with him damn it!

In frustration, she shoved her hands into the pockets of his robe…

She narrowed her eyes in confusion, looking down; she pulled out a small piece of paper that had been crumbled up.

* * *

Tenten was still standing there when Hyuuga Neji returned. She was talking to Temari and Shikamaru, who were standing under a black umbrella together. From the groceries in Shikmaru's hands, Neji presumed that they had just returned from the food market two streets down. 

That was a good sign...that she was still there, despite what happened. During the whole time that he had gone off to purchase an umbrella, he ran through what he wanted to tell her in his mind.

Okay, he could do this.

He was practicing his apology speech to Tenten as he walked back and forth near the hospital entrance as well as the night before (he could barely slept).

He had sighed then, wiping the cold sweat from his hands away as he got rid of the thought.

He knew he was probably…no really pushing it. It would be a miracle if Tenten forgives him, even more if he could savage what was left of their friendship.

No…he had to save it.

He knew Tenten couldn't have left, not before doing a final check at the front desks, and he had been standing there ever since the operation hour started for the non-emergencies. He was beginning to think that she had slipped out from the backdoor when he saw her walked out. He wanted to say the things then, only to forget what he had prepared.

He had run away from her when it started to rain. He knew she wanted to talk to him, with her slight displeased look, but he wanted her to hear what he had to say first. If he could just remember!

Funny…he could kung-fu S-class shinobi into oblivion with no problem yet his mind went blank with just being around Tenten.

Courage Neji, he told himself, Courage.

He approached the three, he nodded at the 'unofficial' couple (even though they were in everyone's mind). However, instead of looking at him in frustration or other types of negative emotion, Tenten gave him a smile when he saw her.

She surprised him when she ducked under his umbrella and waved at the couple.

"Hey Neji." Tenten started, interrupting his thought. "Give me the umbrella."

Neji handed it to her without a second thought.

Smiling even wider, Tenten went on…to hold his hand.

For the first time Neji panicked…What did he do? Why is she so happy? Should he continue on with his speech now? But she seemed to have forgiven him already, giving him her smile and all. Would apologizing now be a good time? What if it reminded Tenten of what happened and make her angry again?

Oh God; oh God, why was she holding his hand?

Maybe Shikamaru or Temari said something that changed her mood completely when he was gone…Shikamaru may not be the gossiping type but Temari definitely were.

What was he supposed to do?

"Neji?" Tenten asked when she realized he wasn't moving along beside her.

"Tenten, I…" Neji started.

He wanted to explain to her how much she meant to him, that he loved her since…well forever. Most of all, he wanted to tell her that he was sorry…for the things he did, and would do anything for her if that would mean she would forgive her…

If only he could get his words out!

Tenten hid her smile as she watched him fidget. After all, it wasn't a commonplace to see Neji like this.

"I…" Neji stammered on.

Tenten decided he probably had enough embarrassment, so she let him off the hook. "Neji, I understand."

"I…I…What?" Neji stared at her. The look of surprise and confusion was so unlike Neji that she chuckled.

"Neji." Tenten placed her other hand (the one that was holding the umbrella), over his. With a small smile, she gave a quick peck on his cheek. "You are very important to me too. Nothing can change that."

Dumbfounded, Neji could only stare at her as he touched the place where she kissed him.

"Come on." She urged as she dragged the still-frozen Neji down the street, their hands intertwined. "Let's go home."

Neji didn't notice as Tenten slipped a piece of paper back into his jacket.

By the later account of bystanders (namely Naruto), Neji apparently had a _'shit-eating' grin_ on his face with one hand still touching the _spot_ the whole time he headed to Tenten's house.

_

* * *

_

_Tenten, _

_I know that you are probably very angry with me right now…and I can completely understand…(Cross-out) I mean I would get angry if I were in your position (Cross-out). But before you leave, I just wanted to say a few words. _

_I felt very angry that night, not because of what you did to get Isamu to your room, it really is your job. [You did well…Tenten you are an extremely capable Kunoichi. I know without a doubt that you will succeed._

_That night, I was angry at myself that I wasn't there to stop him sooner—that you had gotten hurt and molested by him. (An arrow was drawn from [You did well…, indicating the sentence was moved to here). (Cross out) I know that I can't form a protection bubble around you but(Cross out)_

_(Cross out) Isamu had no right to touch you like that. You shouldn't have… (Cross out)._

_What I wanted to say is, you meant a lot to me…more than just a team-mate…more than (A few more sentences were blackened out before it was slightly legible again) I care a lot about you and if you do for me maybe we could (The rest was erased)_

_I'm sorry._

_(There were a few more sentences after but they were erased also.)_

At the beginning, Tenten had thought that the piece of paper was some useless trash that Neji had yet to throw away. It was only by curiosity and boredom (as Neji had yet to return), did Tenten open the thing to have a look.

She recognized it was Neji's writing almost immediately.

To Tenten, that was probably the worse apology speech she had ever seen. It sounded like the speaker was confused himself but was trying his best to get the words out…and yet still failed miserably. At a few times he almost sounded accusing; like that night where he told her how she shouldn't have seduced Isamu and could've gotten easily hurt.

It was so Neji-like that her heart, for some reason, ached.

Being around the man for so long, she knew how difficult it was for him to even create a speech like that, he was an aloof man and he had always kept it that way. For him to try to explain himself to her…She saw the how much effort he had put into it, with all the erase marks, crossing out and whatnot. He must have been practising it the whole night too, with the paper all creased up as a proof he had hold it for an extensive amount of time. But as expected, he didn't make it through the first few words.

Therefore Tenten was determined. Whatever happens…They are going to have a long talk about their relationship.

Because his sincerity made her want to cry.

* * *

A/N: It may not be a good ending as they weren't together yet, but at least it has a promising start XD. For those who were looking for Neji doing a moving speech to Tenten might be disappointed, since he didn't give one. But I think that's what makes him Neji, I doubt that man, despite what he thought about Tenten, can suddenly start doing love speeches or something like that. Neji is a stoic man, he isn't used to talking about his feelings, but that's what I think makes him even cuter when he wants to give one and failed. But I also see it within Tenten to understand his actions speak louder than words. 

Well, that wraps the end of the story. I hope you guys enjoyed it as much as I did writing it. Well, please review and tell me what you guys think.


End file.
